





.\- 












THE GREAT WINTER RESORT OF THE SOUTH. 



<! 

o 




o 



OLD POINT COMFORT, VA. 



Situated ioo yards from Fort Monroe; HOT SEA BATHS, comfortable BEDS, excellent 
CUISINE, its notable characteristics. Open all the year; accommodates 1,000 guests. Admirable 
location ; delightful climate. Free from malaria. 

To families seeking a comfortable and pleasant WINTER HOME — to Tourists on their way to 
or from Florida — it offers special attractions. Terms reasonable. Send for descriptive pamphlet. 

HARRISON PHOEBUS, Proprietor. 

BOSTON AND SAVANNAH 

STEAMSHIP COMPANY. 

Direct Weekly Steamship Line between Boston and Savannah, and all points in 
Florida. 

Unsurpassed passenger accommodations ,at following rates : First-class passage, $20 ; 
steerage passage, $12. 

THE MAGNIFICENT IRON STEAMSHIPS, 

CITY OF COLUMBUS and GATE CITY, 

Will sail alternately every Thursday, at 3 P.M., from Nickerson's Wharf, Congress 
Street, and every Thursday, on tide, from Savannah. 

Insurance effected by this Company at % of 1 per cent. 

Through rates of passage and freight to all points in Florida and the South. 

For freight or passage apply in Boston to 

Wm. H. Ring, Nickerson s Wharf, or 
A. De W. Sampson, 201 Washington Street, Agent, or to 

Richardson & Barnard, Savannah, Ga. 

^ATLANTIC COAST S. S. CO. 

^^ OF FLORIDA. 

Propeller Greenwich. 
THE ONLY DIRECT LINE FROM JACKSONVILLE TO 
Daytona, New Smyrna, 

And points on HALIFAX, HILLSBOROUGH, and INDIAN RIVERS. 

EAVING Jacksonville EVERY THURSDAY to suit tide. RATES OF PASSAGE: 
Jacksonville to all points, $3. 00, including Meals and Stateroom; Excursion. $15.00. For 
Passage and Stateroom, apply to 

CHARLES D. SMITH, Manager, Jacksonville, Fla. 



L 



THE 



Florida Annual 



impartial au& Eluscctional 



1884 






LARGE NEW SECTIONAL MAP. 



EDITSU BY 



C. K. MUNROE 




OFFICE OF PUBLICATION 

143 NASSAU STREET, NEW YORK 
1SS3 



'■^■43 



Copyright, 1883 
By C. K. Mukro2 



V 



AUX & COMPANY, PRINTERS 



27 ROSE STRBET, NEW YORK 



' 



S7. 



Table of Contents, 



PAGl 



Introduction. By Mrs. Harriet Beecher Stowe 

Florida Sectionally Considered. By R. C. Long — 

West Florida g 

Middle Florida ^ 

East Florida 22 

South Florida 36 

From the Governor's Standpoint 4c 

Resources of Florida — 

Staple Commodities. . . , 53 

Tropical and Semi-Tropical Fruits 54 

Small Fruits. . 61 

Early Vegetables 61 

Woods 1 4 

Stock Raising 65 

Fish 63 

Fertilizers 70 

Springs 7 i 

Florida Lands. By R. C. Long — 

How to Procure Them 70 

Their Characteristics -c 

State Government 7q 

The Public Schools of Florida. By II. N. Felkel 82 

Traveler's Guide to Florida. By Kirk Munroe — 

Hints to Tourists and Invalids 84 

Routes and Places 88 

Hints to Sportsmen. By " Al Fresco" — 

Hunting 95 

Fishing q8 

The Indian River. By Wallace R. Moses roe 

Silk Farming in Florida. By Mrs. Ellen Call Long 1 1 2 ~ 

Adventures with Alligators (Story) 116 



Table of Contents. 



PAGE 



Key West and The Dry Tortugas. By Kirk Munroe 122 

Statistical Tables. Prepared by Charles A. Choate — 

I. Chronological 129 

II. Distances from Jacksonville 131 

III. Latitude and Longitude 134 

IV. Areas and County Sites 135 

V. Population 136 

VI. List of Governors 138 

VII. United States Officers I3g 

VIII. State and County Officers 141 

IX. Important Laws 150 

X. Public Lands 151 

XI. Railroads, Canals, and Telegraph Lines 152 

XII. Newspaper Directory 155 

XIII. Church Organizations 158 

XIV. Masonic and other Societies 159 

XV. County Statistics 162 

XVI. Manufacturing Industries 168 

XVII. North Florida Meteorological Record '. 169 

XVIII. Post Offices 172 

Publisher's Department 177 

Advertisements ~ 173 

Items of Interest 182 



Introduction. 



BY MRS. HARRIET BEECHER STOWE. 



WHEN the editor of this magazine came to me in Florida, last 
winter, and asked me if I would undertake its introduction to 
my kind friends — the public — I readily consented to do so. 

I did this because I knew that such a periodical as he proposed to 
publish was greatly needed in Florida, and would meet a long-felt want. 
Having known the editor for years, I also knew that he was personally 
acquainted with Florida, its people, its resources, and its needs, and was 
well qualified to represent them to the world at large. 

My readiness to accede to his request was, however, chiefly because 
I foresaw that the publication of his Annual would afford me the means 
of furnishing trustworthy information in reply to constant letters of 
inquiry, which were being addressed to me and to which I had neither the 
time nor strength to reply. 

During my years of winter residence in Florida I have been beset 
with letters, from every portion of this and other countries, containing 
all manner of inquiries about Florida. Invalids have written for infor- 
mation as to its climate, poor men and women to have me tell them 
how to gain a livelihood from its soil, 'and rich men concerning invest- 
ments in its lands, or orange groves. I have been asked questions 
regarding its school system, the religious privileges, and the lands of 
Florida. How much land does the United States own, how much still 
belongs to the State, and how many acres have been granted to rail- 
roads and canals? What are the homestead laws? What the rates of 
taxation ; and what is the feeling of Floridians towards Northerners ? 
What is the best soil for growing oranges, and which for raising cab- 
bages ? Is the rearing of silk-worms in Florida profitable ? Is there 
much danger to be apprehended from alligators, snakes, poisonous in- 
sects or plants ? Are fevers prevalent ? Is Florida possessed of any 
mineral wealth : if so, how much ; and if not, why not ? Some writers 

5 



6 Introduction. 

have desired me to send them descriptions of the most attractive resorts 
in Florida with lists of their hotels and boarding-houses, together with 
rates of fare and board. All these questions have been propounded to 
me, and I have spent much time in answering, them to the best of 
my ability. 

I now find the most important of them answered in this magazine, 
which in addition contains a store of information as valuable to me as 
it must be to all who take a near, or even remote, interest in the past, 
present, or future of Florida. Therefore I shall hereafter refer my 
correspondents to its pages for answers to their various questions, and 
I feel assured that in making such reference I am doing them a greater 
service than if I undertook to write personal replies to their several 
letters. 

The removal of the home to a new country involves many grave 
considerations, and should not be undertaken lightly or unadvisedly ; 
and a work like this furnishes those stores of information which are 
necessary for making up an intelligent judgment : as such I recommend 
it to all who seek a home in Florida. 

Hartford, Conn., July 24, 1883. 



This magazine, which Mrs. Stowe has so kindly introduced, and 
which now makes its first appearance, is the outgrowth of the innumer- 
able inquiries concerning Florida, propounded each year, to its Editor, 
upon his return from the South, by his Northern friends. In its pages 
he has endeavored to answer such of these questions as present them- 
selves to his memory, and, with each succeeding number, questions 
arising during the intervals between publication will be answered, and 
topics of interest to Floridians discussed at length. 

In the Annual for 1885 will appear papers upon the Florida ship 
canal, truck farming in Florida, Floridian railways, and other subjects 
of kindred interest. The statistical tables, which form so important a 
feature of the magazine, are to be annually revised and increased in 
number until — for purposes of reference upon all subjects connected 
with the history and material interests of Florida — they shall become 
invaluable.- 

Florida was never so prosperous as now, nor has her future ever 
looked so bright. Within her borders, railway construction is being 
pushed with a vigor unprecedented in the South ; the credit of her 



Introduction. y 

government is safely established at home and abroad ; and her rates of 
taxation are being steadily diminished. Foreign capital is seeking in- 
vestment in her lands, and in the gigantic schemes for internal im- 
provement, which promise to gain for her a prominent and enviable 
position among the sisterhood of States. Her avenues of approach 
are thronged with immigrants in search of new homes, and invalids 
who seek the benefits of her glorious climate. Florida real estate, 
whether in town or country, is so steadily appreciating in value, that 
it offers to-day one of the safest investments in the country. 

On this flood-tide of prosperity is the Florida Annual launched ; 
and, while it does not aspire to either wide fame nor remarkable fortune, 
tt does hope to be borne by it into a safe haven of recognized useful- 
ness and steady demand. It is devoted to no scheme, party, nor sec- 
tion ; but, " Impartial and Unsectional," it aims to be the representa- 
tive, at home and abroad, of every worthy interest of the great State 
which gives to it a name and reason for existence. 

Without attempting an apology for the innumerable shortcomings 
of this number of the Annual, we promise to make the im- 
provement of each successive issue as marked as is the annually in- 
creased prosperity of the State of Florida. 

The Editor. 



Flo? ida Sectioitally Considered. 



BY R. C. LONfJ. 



THE State of Florida is divided into four geographical sections, 
commonly designated as West, Middle, East, and South Florida. 
There is really no such division legally authorized ; but by its 
citizens such a subdivision of territory is tacitly recognized, 
and the several parts are always spoken of by the above names. 
All of that portion of the State lying south of the State of Alabama 
and west of the Apalachicola River, embracing the counties of Escam- 
bia, Santa Rosa, Walton, Holmes, Washington, Jackson, and Calhoun, 
is known as West Florida. 

The section of country lying between the Apalachicola and 
Suwanee Rivers, embracing the counties of Gadsden, Liberty, Frank- 
lin, Leon, Wakulla, Jefferson, Madison, Taylor, Lafayette, and Hamil- 
ton, is known as Middle Florida. 

That portion of the State situated east of the Suwanee River and 
north of the 29th parallel of latitude, embracing the counties of 
Suwanee, Columbia, Baker, Nassau, Duval, Clay, St. John's, Putnam, 
Bradford, Alachua, Levy, Marion, and Volusia, is termed East Flor- 
ida. 

That immense region in the peninsula south of the 29th parallel, 
containing the counties of Hernando, Sumter, Orange*, Hillsborough, 
Polk, Brevard, Manatee, Dade, and Monroe, is called South Florida. 

The four following articles are intended to present a descriptive 
outline of these several sections in the order named : 



WEST FLORIDA. 

Outside of the old Spanish town of Pensacola, West Florida re- 
mained cut off from the balance of the world until the opening of the 
Pensacola and Atlantic Railroad, just put in operation from Pensa- 
cola to Chattahooche on the Apalachicola River, where, after pass- 
ing through the counties of Santa Rosa, Walton, Holmes, Washington, 
and Jackson, it connects with the western terminus of the Florida 
Central and Western Railroad, which traverses the State eastwardly 
to Jacksonville on the St. John's River. 



io Florida Sectionally Considered — West Florida. 

Before the construction of this trunk line, connecting at Pensa- 
cola with the Louisville and Nashville system of railways, there was 
no means of getting into or out of this great western territory of the 
State except by tedious traveling over heavy roads in private convey- 
ance, or by means of some of the little mail hacks, often nothing 
more commodious than an old rickety buggy, that plied between 
the widely-separated country post-offices. Notwithstanding this fact, 
very considerable settlement had been made in these western counties 
as early as 1830, when the population of the seven counties amounted 
to 10,678, and, without any organized plan of inducing immigration, 
and entirely without any facilities of transporting people, enough from 
the outside world had straggled into that part of Florida to bring its 
population up to 45,233 in 1880, only about 9,000 of which are to be 
credited to the city of Pensacola ; so that in a period of fifty years, in 
the first thirty of which it was subjected to all those embarrassments 
that attend the settlement of a new frontier country, and the last twenty 
years to those never-to-be-described impediments that attend civil 
war, bankruptcy, reconstruction, and resurrection, this western portion 
of Florida has more than doubled her population twice, which is quite as 
good a showing as can be made by any part of the South, and perhaps 
of the Union, except those Western States which owe their phenomenal 
development to the great tide of European immigration daily poured 
into them, and of which none has been directed to West Florida. 

The settlers of this region have been chiefly from the Southern 
States— Alabama, Tennessee, Georgia, and the Carolinas furnishing the 
greater part. In the Euchee Valley, in Walton County, many years ago, 
settled a colony of educated Scotch farmers, who have bred a race of 
Macs in those regions who have long been the moving spirits of the 
county, supplying able men for every position of trust, usefulness, and 
responsibility. 

The inducements that have brought together this population of 
45,000 and upward have been very simple : none of the extra- 
ordinary causes that sometimes in a few years, or even months, throw a 
great concourse of people into a section of country recently a wilderness 
— such as the discovery of gold, the opening of mines, or the " striking 
of oil." Nothing analogous to the orange grove and tropical fruit 
craze, that has done so much in settling other parts of the State, has 
had anything to do with carrying people to West Florida ; but gradu- 
ally, almost one by one, these people have drifted down from more 
Northern States with their families and household effects transported in 
wagons, in search of healthful locations where the soil was fertile enough 
to be turned to agricultural pursuits, and the natural vegetation sufficient 
to sustain their flocks. No country has yet been discovered that possessed 
all the advantages that covetous men desire, and many of the prime ob- 
jects sought by immigrants in other lands may be wanting in that section ; 
but certainly, in one or two particulars, it stands without a rival outside 
of the State to which it belongs. A perfect climate and determined 
healthfulness may be regarded as chief among the attractions. 

The country is comparatively high, not, indeed, in comparison with 



Florida Sectionally Considered — West Florida. I r 

Kentucky, Tennessee, or North Georgia, but so very much higher than 
much of Louisiana, Mississippi, the coast counties of Carolina and 
Georgia and the peninsular portion of Florida, as to be considered in 
these latitudes quite elevated. Certainly the point of greatest altitude 
in Florida is to be found in Walton County. The proximity of the Gulf, 
and the boundless extent of forest reaching in every direction, tend to 
equalize temperatures and make the climate one of the most delightful 
to be found anywhere. We have no data from which to compile a table 
of diurnal temperatures for this part of the State, but from personal 
experience can pronounce it almost identical with that of Tallahassee 
in the middle section of the State, where the latitude and other topo- 
graphical conditions are very much the same, and we refer here to a 
meteorological table, to be found elsewhere in this book, for a fair 
reading of the mean temperature of the western portion of the State. 

Of the healthfulness of West Florida, as indeed of the balance of the 
State, we can speak in the highest praise. There is no longer question 
of the established fact that most of the diseases prevalent in the United 
States, when they occur, as most of them sometimes do, in Florida, are 
universally of a milder type than they assume elsewhere. 

Pensacola, being a port to which shipping from the West Indies and 
South American ports is constantly arriving, has been subject to 
visitations of yellow fever, which has several times become epidemic 
there and caused many deaths, and it is quite probable that this will 
continue to be the case. It, however, never spreads into the country, 
and the country residents of Escambia County have never had cause to 
feel any apprehension on the score of yellow fever. 

THE SOILS 

of West Florida are of several varieties of marked differences. The 
greater portion of the section is sandy and not possessed of any won- 
derful degree of fertility, yet it is rarely so poor as not to give very 
satisfactory returns to labor bestowed upon it. 

Certain portions, however, possess as choice agricultural lands as are 
to be found in the South. Jackson County, for instance, is one of the 
richest agricultural regions of Florida. In it clay predominates in the 
soil, and abundant crops of corn, cotton, cane, potatoes, oats, rye, rice, 
and hay are made by its farmers. Since the recent provision of railroad 
facilities, no section of Florida offers greater inducements to a class 
of farmers of moderate means who desire cheap lands of excellent 
quality, generally cleared, where staple farm crops can be profitably 
handled. 

Some excellent farming lands are to be found in Walton and Holmes 
Counties also, and what are known as the Euchee Anna Valley Lands 
in Walton are the centres of much prosperous husbandry. 

Calhoun County can boast of much excellent hammock land. The 
resources of this county have not as yet been developed, but the time 
is near at hand when the attention of immigrants will be directed to 
the Chipola country in Calhoun County. In it are orange groves, of 



12 Florida Sectionally Considered — West Florida. 

which no boasts have been made, that would open wide with surprise 
the eyes of some of the proprietors in the " orange belt." It is safe to 
predict a future of wonderful prosperity for Calhoun County. 

One of the attractions that West Florida offers to immigrants is 
the adaptiveness of much of the greater part of its area to profitable 
stock raising, especially sheep. The country is well watered, not with 
ponds, cypress swamps, and lagoons ; but with clear running streams, 
having their sources in determined springs. The natural grasses of 
the pine woods in this part of Florida are more diversified and of a finer 
character than on the pine lands of other parts of the State, and afford 
very satisfactory food to flocks and herds. The grazing qualities of 
West Florida do not compare with those of some parts of Texas and 
other Western States and Territories, where mesquite and other noted 
grasses abound ; but we question whether sheep raising is not really 
more profitable in West Florida than in any of the Western States, 
where the grass is naturally better, because of the small percentage of 
loss from severe weather and diseases. Such cold winds, accom- 
panied with rain, as occur in Texas, for instance, so constantly 
during the lambing season, and are such prolific sources of loss to 
flock owners, are entirely unknown in West Florida, where the perfect 
equability of the climate allows the safe dropping of lambs in the open 
fields and woodlands throughout the entire winter. No housing nor 
extra winter feed is necessary to keep a flock in fair condition. The 
abundant shade, absence of waxy mud, cacti, burrs, etc., are also items 
to be considered. Certain it is that the ownership of flocks has for 
some years been found to be attended with steady and sure profits in 
West Florida, and it is practically the only part of the State where this 
industry has assumed such proportions as to entitle it to be ranked 
among the available resources of the section. 

The Census of 1880 shows returns of something over 54,000 sheep 
for the seven counties of West Florida, and, as most of those engaged 
in the business had recently become so, it is likely that 1890 will find 
twenty times as many fleeces in Florida west of the Apalachicola as in 
1880. 

The permanent improvement of the open range pasturage by the 
introduction on those lands of the Bermuda and other grasses, grown 
so successfully in Middle Florida, is declared to be entirely practicable, 
and in many instances has already been successfully accomplished. 

The cattle of this part of Florida' are larger and fatter, owing to the 
better character of the pasture, than those of the southern portion of 
the State. There are in West Florida no "cow men " who count their 
horns on so extensive a scale as some of the "cattle kings" of the 
southern part of the State ; but nevertheless there are some large and 
profitable herds in this section. The Census of 1880 shows upward 
of 62,000 cattle in the seven counties of West Florida, Jackson County 
alone claiming 11,727 head, and, as Jackson is an agricultural county, 
having 70,000 acres of land — more than 10 per cent, of its total area — 
improved and under cultivation, it compares very well in its cattle in- 
terest with even Manatee County of the south, which has 2.995,200 



Florida Sectionally Considered — West Florida. 



13 



acres, with but 1,993 acres under cultivation, and with 53,000 head of 
cattle. 

Since the completion of the railroad through West Florida a great 
impetus has been given to its cattle trade. Texas is sending numer- 
ous buyers to that section, who are paying the highest prices for stock 
cattle. 

In the past, as probably for some years in the future, the most ex- 
tensive industry and source of wealth to West Florida has been, and 
will be, the handling of her 



PINE TIMBER, 

than which no finer supply, both as to quantity and quality, is to be 
found in the South. 

The fine harbor of Pensacola has for years attracted the ships of all 
nations in quest of the great stores of yellow pine timber and lumber 
to be obtained there ; and mills for the manufacture of these com- 
modities have been for a long time operated at Pensacola, at several 
points on Escambia Bay, the Blackwater, and the Apalachicola. But 
as only such parts of the great pine forest have been invaded as the 
"logmen" found easily accessible to the currents of the Escambia, 
Blackwater, Yellow River, Choctawhachie, Chipola, and Apalachicola 
Rivers, the sawing of lumber in that section of the State is but in its 
infancy. The construction of the Pensacola and Atlantic Railroad 
alone will make available the standing timber on millions of acres 
that heretofore have been shut out from the world's commerce. Every 
month now sees the establishing of additional mills aiong the line of 
this great highway, and, as heavy as have been Pensacola's exports here- 
tofore, they are likely to be doubled in a year or two, or as soon as the 
outside world discovers the opportunities for the safe investment of 
capital in the timber lands of these western counties. The following 
is a statement of the shipment of lumber from Pensacola for the years 
ending October 31, 1881 and 1882, respectively: 



FOR YEAR ENDING OCTOBER 31, l88l. 



DESTINATION. 


1! 

u 
> 


Tonnage. 


Hewed Timber 
Cubic Feet. 


Sawed Timber 
Cubic Feet. 


Lumber, 
Lineal Ft. 


Great Britain 


246 

97 
6 

85 
130 

564 


195,920 

55,336 

4.592 

33.083 

50,251 


3,669,703 

878,844 

5,565 

39,908 

29,366 


5,773,185 

756,888 

193,595 

19.342 


15,109,000 
17,078,000 
395,000 
21,663,000 
34,073,000 


W. Indies, S. America, &c. 


Total 


339,182 


4,623,386 


6,743,010 


88,318,000 



14 Florida Sectionally Considered — Middle Florida. 



FOR YEAR ENDING OCTOBER 31, 1882. 



DESTINATION. 


0) 
V) 

en 

V 

> 


Tonnage. 


Hewed Timber 
Cubic Feet. 


Sawed Timber 
Cubic Feet. 


Lumber, 
Lineal Ft. 


Africa, Australia, &c . . . . 
W. Indies, S. America,&c. 


263 
134 

6 
134 
125 


215,477 
80,250 

3,335 

55,158 
55,7i6 


1,248,418 
24,782 

57,919 
81,042 


6,914,573 

1,647.931 

23.509 

129,585 


13,996,000 
17,305,000 
1,595,000 
35,112,000 
37,943,000 




Total 


662 


409,936 


4,603,578 


8,7I5,59 8 


105,951,000 





Life has but just begun for West Florida ; so entirely has it been 
isolated heretofore that it has known but little of the outside world. 
For fifty years her councilors and legislators have had long miles of 
dense forest to traverse in the saddle, rivers to swim, and days to spend 
in reaching the capitol at Tallahassee ; and, as few human beings have 
the push of the average member of a legislature, it was natural that, 
under these uninviting conditions, their constituency should have re- 
ceived but small accessions from beyond their borders. But now the 
most southern of all the great iron highways that connect the waters of 
the Pacific and the Atlantic passes east and west through the heart of 
this fine territory. A stream of travel has already entered Florida over 
it, and another season will show the section to thousands of eyes that 
will see more or less to attract them. The population, capital, and 
industries of these western counties will undoubtedly double in the 
next ten years. What West Florida has to offer is substantial, and 
shows for itself. 



MIDDLE FLORIDA. 

Middle Florida embraces the counties of Gadsden, Liberty, Frank- 
lin, Wakulla, Leon, Jefferson, Madison, Taylor, Lafayette, and Hamil- 
ton, and occupies that section of the State lying between the Suwanee 
and Apalachicola Rivers. 

The northern portion of this area, or so much of the counties of Mad- 
ison, Jefferson, Leon, and Gadsden as lie north of the line of the 
Florida Central & Western Railroad, is a section entirely unlike any 
other in Florida. The yellow-pine trees, and level, sandy lands, so 
conspicuous elsewhere in Florida, are not found here ; but in their 
stead is a high, rolling country, a firm, clayey soil, and, where not 
cleared and under cultivation, magnificent forests of oaks of many 
varieties, hickory, ash, cherry, sweet-gum, poplar, magnolia, and many 
other hard-wood trees. 

The general appearance of this hill country is so unlike the greater 



Florida Scctionally Considered — Middle Florida. 1 5 

portion of the State, that a traveler who for days before has been gazing 
into the gloomy depths of endless pine woods, with their weird same- 
ness, can scarcely credit his senses when he glances at this beautifully 
picturesque region from the car windows. This section of Middle 
Florida is an oasis of rich agricultural country, situated in the great 
pine waste of southern Georgia and northern Florida. It bears un- 
mistakable evidences of belonging to the geological period of volcanic 
upheaval that made the West Indies. Scientists recognize in this dis- 
turbance relations to the Andean rather than the Alleghanean system. 
It is probable that this part of Florida was for ages an island in the 
warm Southern seas, its tropical hill-tops rich in forest life, long before 
the little coral masons laid the foundation of the reefs on which the 
sea-waves have since raised the peninsula and coast line of the State. 

As long ago as 1823, the commissioners authorized to select and 
locate the site of the territorial capital were induced by the beauty of 
this region to determine upon it as the most suitable place in the new- 
ly-acquired country for the establishment of its seat of government, 
and Tallahassee was laid out on its hill-tops. Immediately after the 
establishment of the United States Land Office at the capital, the fer- 
tility of the extensive belt of red clay lands in this middle region at- 
tracted the attention of wealthy planters in Virginia and the Carolinas, 
who at once began entering the fine hammocks, and removing to 
them their large families of slaves. 

In a very few years broad acres of the mighty forest had fallen be- 
fore the busy axes of the slave forces, and the fertile plateaux and val- 
leys were as rapidly converted into fields of corn, cane, cotton, and 
tobacco. 

The wonderful productiveness of this semi-tropical region was 
soon a source of immense profit to its fortunate owners. The young 
capital began to grow and prosper, and was soon the home of people 
of cultivation and taste, who constructed comfortable and in some in- 
stances luxurious homes, in which for many years was expended a 
bounteous hospitality, that made the Tallahassee country famous for 
the attractiveness of its social surroundings. Very much the same 
atmosphere extended into the adjoining counties of Gadsden, Jeffer- 
son, and Madison, and the pretty little towns of Quincy, Monticellc, 
and Madison gathered around them a population of wealthy men. 
This was then the Florida. The growing of oranges was never engaged 
in by these plantation proprietors for profit ; and, notwithstanding that 
the great St. John's flowed as majestically then as now, the fact that 
nowhere on its banks was the land fertile enough to encourage agri- 
cultural pursuits forbade the opening of plantations there. 

The Civil War, and its attendant consequences, put an end, tempo- 
rarily, to the prosperity of this Middle region of the State. Many an 
old mansion, once the scene of gayety and luxury, now stands a 
decaying ruin — in the vicinity of the towns of Middle Florida — amid 
the splendid trees of surrounding parks, deserted by its once proud 
but generous inmates, who, in the unsettled state of things succeeding 
the war, removed to the towns for mutual protection. Other grand 



1 6 Florida Sectionally Considered — Middle Florida. 

old homes have been consumed by fire and decay. Long lines of 
tumble-down negro quarters, dilapidated sugar and gin houses, and 
abandoned orchards catch the eye from almost every prominent hill-top, 
and, despite the really beautiful natural surroundings, an observer must 
feel sad at the many evidences of departed glory and happiness. 

The country above described has been called by a brilliant and de- 
lightful writer, " The Tallahassee Country, or Piedmont Florida," and 
his descriptions are so truthful and pleasant that we cannot do better 
than to quote what he says. He thus describes the view westward 
from the high hill on which the City of Tallahassee is situated : 

" Towards every side the hills swelled up, colored with colors that 
suggested fertility and abundance ; their rounded brows, their slopes, the 
valleys between them were full of green crops; comfortable home- 
steads and farm buildings reposed in the distance, each cluster of 
which had its own protecting grove of oaks standing about it in the be- 
nignant attitudes of outer lares and penates; it was that sort of pros- 
pect which the grave old English writers would have called ' goodlye, 
pleasaunt and smylynge.' These hills carried with them no associa- 
tions of hills. They did not in the least suggest agitations or upheavals. 
They only seemed to be great level uplands, distended like udders 
with a bounteous richness almost too large for their content. And this 
indeed has always been the tone of things — not only of the hills, but of 
the social life in Tallahassee." 

Of the many beautiful lakes the same writer says : 

" Lake La Fayette — so' called from its situation on the estate granted 
to the Marquis de La Fayette by the United States — Lake Jackson, 
Lake Bradford, Lake Miccosukie and Lake Iamonia (pronounced with 
the I long and the accent on the antepenult) [all in Leon County], all 
form charming objective points for excursions and offer substantial 
results of fine fish, as well as lovely views by way of invitations. Wild 
duck, brant, and geese are also found, often in great numbers. * * 
* * The environment of these lakes is varied and beautiful. The 
hills surround them with gently receding curves, now with bolder bluffs, 
now with terraces rising one above another to the height of a hundred 
feet in all ; many growths of great, glossy-leaved magnolias, of water- 
oaks and live-oaks, of hickory, ash, wild cherry, and mock orange, 
glorify the shores ; and between, around, and over these hang the 
clematis, the woodbine, and wild grape vines." 

It was in this part of Florida that the very complicated and peculiar 
political process, termed reconstruction, most particularly worked it- 
self out. Much of the former wealth of the people consisted of slaves, 
who were owned in great numbers in the counties of Gadsden, Leon, 
Wakulla, Jefferson, and Madison, and so outnumbered the white popula- 
tion, that, under the administration of the carpet-bag regime, which relied 
upon the support of these newly liberated people entirely for its hold 
upon the State government, the social establishment was more entirely 
upset, and a more lasting injury was done in this section than any- 
where else in Florida. 

The colored race in the South have never shown themselves a 



Florida Sectionally Considered — Middle Florida. ij 

vicious people. On the contrary, history offers no parallel of a people 
exhibiting more universal amiability and docility. Such teachers and 
lessons as the Southern negroes were subjected to, by the very unprin- 
cipled and reckless class of carpet-bag adventurers who became their 
political leaders after the war, would have made of any other 
race of men on earth a host of fiends. But it was a rare ex- 
ception when the most designing white politician could so far inflame 
the passions of one of these people as to make use of him as an insti- 
gator of riot and disorder ; and when this did occur, it was gen- 
erally with some idle but nervous individual in whose veins there was 
more Caucasian than African blood. Nevertheless the political tur- 
moil, that was diligently kept up in Middle Florida by the white leaders 
of the negro cohorts until 1876, when the administration of the State 
government passed into the hands of Floridians, retarded the progress 
of the middle portion of the State many years. Leagues, midnight 
drills, secret societies, politically-religious, or religiously-political har- 
ranguings and teachings, at which the attendance of every male 
and female was exacted by the political preachers, kept the colored 
people in a state of feverish excitement, and caused them to neglect 
their farms and crops, to abandon the country in large numbers and 
flock to the towns. Intemperance rapidly gained a hold upon them as 
a people, and all their suspicions and fears were kept aroused toward 
the whites. 

The majority of the negroes, being idle, were soon led to pilfer and 
steal. Thousands of cattle, hogs, and sheep were stolen and de- 
stroyed. Families, who owned thousands of acres of land on which 
large herds had been profitably kept for years, found it difficult, even by 
the utmost watchfulness, to protect and keep a single cow. The sheriffs, 
constables, justices of the peace, and bailiffs, were all negroes ; the 
juries were the same, and to bring a thief to justice was simply impos- 
sible. So that very soon no effort even was made to restrain the wide- 
spread waste and ruin that resulted. 

With this state of affairs, which grew rapidly worse and worse, from 
1865 to 1876, the condition of the country very naturally became des- 
perate. 

Planters and farmers who had struggled to embrace the situation, 
and who, fully recognizing that a radical change in their circumstances 
demanded a corresponding change in their conduct and management, 
had sought by every legitimate means to overcome the manifold ob- 
stacles thrown in their way, and to adapt themselves to the temper of 
things, gradually became disheartened. Crops, for want of proper 
work, were abandoned. Year after year prices declined. Encum- 
brances matured. Taxes were quadrupled to support the corrupt and 
extravagant government. The sheriff's hammer was raised, and mer- 
cilessly fell on the hearthstones of the people. Land rapidly depre- 
ciated in value. Estates that in 1861, or even in 1865, were valued at $25 
to $50 per acre, were knocked off at foreclosure sales at $1.50 to $3.00 
per acre, and even then bid in by the mortgagees. 

Certainly no section of the South could have become more absolutely 



1 8 Florida Sectionally Considered — Middle Florida. 

dead and unprosperous than Middle Florida. While men and money 
were rapidly being attracted to the eastern part of the State, and hotels 
and orange groves were springing, up every day along the St. John's and 
the shores of the inland lakes of the peninsula, not a sign of improve- 
ment nor advance could be noted in Middle Florida. No public spirit 
could be aroused. Men seemed unable to even hope for a change. 
This was the condition of things up to the close of 1876; but in the fall 
of that year the clouds began to break. The State government passed 
into the hands of citizens of the State. The carpet-bag and scallawag 
office-holders and their henchmen were discharged from further duty. 
Men of integrity and character were entrusted with the administration 
of affairs, and immediately a reaction set in. 

Allusion has been made to these dismal days of reconstruction 
merely as explanatory of the causes which have operated to retard the 
advance of the middle section of the State, while the eastern and south- 
ern sections were so rapidly filling up with settlers from all parts of 
the world. 

But the wave of prosperity that has gradually raised itself and been 
sweeping over the Southern States has at last reached this charming, 
but of late neglected, part of Florida. The spirit of improvement is 
aroused and fairly getting abroad in the land. New railroads are 
being proposed and built, and old lines repaired and extended. 

Until recently Middle Florida could only be reached from the North 
and West, after a long circuitous journey by way of Jacksonville or 
Live Oak, over a very rough line of rail. But recently the old Florida 
Central Railroad Co., from Jacksonville west to Lake City, and the 
Jacksonville, Mobile and Pensacola Railroad from Lake City to Chat- 
tahoochee, have been consolidated, and now constitute the Florida 
Central and Western Railway, connecting at its western terminus with 
the Louisville and Nashville, Pensacola and Atlantic line ; thus giving 
quick and direct transit from all points north and west through West 
Florida to all points in the middle section, and thence, via Jacksonville, 
to all points in the east and south. The Savannah, Florida and West- 
ern Railroad Co. have also made a connection from their trunk line in 
Southern Georgia through the county of Gadsden to Chattahoochee, 
thus supplying much-needed transportation facilities to the region of 
splendid lands lying in the northern and. western parts of the State. 
The Thomasville, Tallahassee and Gulf Railroad Company, chartered 
by the last Legislature, have already secured their right of way from 
Thomasville, in Georgia, through the beautiful hill country of Leon 
County, via Tallahassee, and across the great hammock and timber 
belts of Wakulla County, to the new and thriving town of Rio Carra- 
belle on St. James' Island, where ships of heavy tonnage from all parts 
of the world ride at anchor in the deep water of Dog Island Harbor. 
Another thoroughfare has been surveyed, called the Georgia, Florida 
and Midland Railroad, to run west from Gainesville, in Alachua County, 
to Old Town on the Suwanee, and thence northwesterly, through the 
splendid lands of Taylor and Lafayette Counties, into Jefferson, Leon, 
and Gadsden, and thence to Montgomery, Alabama. 



Florida Sectionally Considered — Middle Florida. 19 

New and elegant steamers are plying the waters of the Apalachi- 
cola. 

Commodious hotels, with all modern conveniences, are being built. 
Tallahassee, within the past twelve months, has built the Leon and the 
St. James. Monticello and Madison have both organized hotel com- 
panies, and have gone to work to erect places of entertainment for the 
winter visiters who are brought to them by the new lines of travel. 
Foreign cay tal is stepping in and finding investments in lands and 
manufactories. Home money, that has lain hidden away since the dark 
days of '65, is coming to light and declares itself ready to assist in re- 
habilitating the land. Coats & Co., the great thread-making Scotch- 
men, have found in Madison County an abundant supply of the finest 
long staple cotton ; and in Mr. John Englis they have engaged a super- 
intendent under whose direction an extensive spinning establishment 
has been located to prepare the raw material for their mills abroad. 

The very elevated character of the country in the northern part 
of Middle Florida, and the nature of the scenery and surroundings, 
where gracefully swelling hill-sides, open valleys, green and invit- 
ing meadows, great areas of well-kept farm lands, with cosy settlements, 
patches of deep, semi-tropical forest, where the high arches of the live- 
oak are filled with waving palms, deep, clear-water lakes meeting among 
the hills which rise precipitously from the water's edge, are thrown to- 
gether in delightful confusion — and all this where the roadways are 
hard and smooth, horses and vehicles abundant, and hotel accommoda- 
tions excellent, is well calculated to prove very attractive to that mass 
of restless visitors who visit this sunny clime in winter. 

No great water-way, like the St. John's of the east, invites the excur- 
sionist ; but that great resource of pleasure-seekers, riding and driving, 
can be as thoroughly enjoyed in Middle Florida as anywhere in the 
world. 

In every direction from the towns'along the line of the Florida Cen- 
tral and Western Railroad, excellent roads, free from sand or mud, 
extend into the surrounding country. 

Springs out of which rivers emerge with a single burst, as large at 
their source as at any point along their course, abound in Middle Flor- 
ida. Chief among these is the wonderful Wakulla Spring, in the county 
of the same name. It is 400 feet in diameter and 180 feet deep, and 
yet so entirely pellucid that the smallest coin can be seen upon its bot- 
tom. 

The palm-grown banks of the Ocklocknee, Sopchoppy, Wakulla, 
St. Mark's, Aucilla, Wacissa, Econfeenee, Finhaloway, and Steinhatchee 
are as weird and tropical in their appearance as the most enthusiastic 
explorer could desire. 

Game is so abundant that it is questionable whether finer sport can 
be found anywhere than in the extensive covers among the large plan- 
tations of Middle and Western Florida, in which quail abound. 

The strongest recommendatory feature of Middle Florida, and one 
that will outweigh all others with a large class of practical men, is the 
fact that so large a part of it is so admirably adapted to mixed farm- 



20 Florida Sectionally Considered — Middle Florida. 

ing. The very extensive plantation clearings in Gadsden, Wakulla, 
Leon, Jefferson, and Madison Counties offer facilities to settlers for ob- 
taining small farms of from 160 to 320 or more acres, already cleared 
and grassed, on which all the staple farm crops can be profitably grown, 
improved breeds of cattle, sheep, and swine kept ; and with the great 
fertilizing assistance of these latter, together with the natural strength 
and durability of the clayey loam, early vegetable growing for North- 
ern markets, at a season when this region virtually commands a monop- 
oly of the market, can be made a most profitable and interesting ad- 
junct to the regular operations of the farm. 

The long list of fruits and berries that find a genial climate and soil 
in Middle Florida is to many minds quite as inviting as the orange of 
other sections. Nor must it be overlooked that throughout Middle Flor- 
ida splendid old orange-trees are to be found bearing luscious fruit. 
Periodically, at intervals, usually, of fifteen years, cold waves have 
swept over this section of the State, doing more or less damage to the 
orange-trees. The last occurrence of the kind was in December, 1880, 
and its effects are still to be seen, though on the lower Apalachicola River 
and in Lafayette and Taylor Counties the damage done was very slight. 

The establishment, throughout Middle Florida, of commodious 
churches and schools is a source of great satisfaction to its people, and 
a decided attraction to many from other States. Besides the presence 
of well-organized and well-conducted public and private schools in all the 
towns and country neighborhoods, there is established at Tallahassee 
the West Florida Seminary, with a male and female department and 
a corps of competent instructors. Within the year has been incorpo- 
rated and founded the Florida University, of which one college (the 
Medical) has been put upon a starting basis, and has just been opened. 

The carefully compiled tables, showing the result of a series of ob- 
servations taken in Tallahassee from January 1, 1881, to July 1, 1883,. 
and published in another portion of this book under the heading of Sta- 
tistical Tables, will, in the absence of any other data, serve as a fair 
record of temperature for all the hill country, extending from the 
Suwanee westward to the Apalachicola. 

From the tables referred to it will be seen that, through a period of 
thirty months, embracing the summer solstice of 1881, 1882, and 1883, 
the highest range of the mercury was 97 once in 1881, 95 once in 1882, 
and 94 once in 1883 ; and that during the same period the lowest range 
of the thermometer was 32 — four times in 1881, twice in 1882, and but 
once in the first six months of 1883. These several temperatures were 
only attained for an hour or so at a time, the high degrees coming only 
at 2 p. m., and the low register at 7 a. m. and 9 p. m. 

The difference between the highest summer temperature and the 
lowest winter register for 1881 was 65 ; the difference in 1882 was 6i°, 
and for 1883 the difference was 6o°. 

The average mean daily temperature for the fifteen fall and winter 
months of the above period, i. e., January, February, and March of 1881, 
1882, and 1883, and October, November, and December of 1881 and 1882, 
is 63.73. 



Florida Sectionally Considered — Middle Florida. 21 

The average mean daily temperature of the fifteen summer months, 
i. e., April, May, and June of 1881, 1882, and 1883, and July, August, 
and September of 1881 and 1882, is 79.10. 

The difference between the average daily temperature of winter and 
summer being only fifteen and thirteen-hundredths degrees. 

The forest growth of the red lands of Middle Florida is of a great 
variety of hard-wooded, umbrageous trees that afford an abundant 
shade, and the clayey lands of the region are carpeted with grasses of 
many varieties, so that even at mid-day, under the direct rays of the 
semi-tropical sun, few places are to be found where the heat is not 
endurable. 

Middle Florida has just arrived at a period when very radical 
changes are taking place in the economy of its development. 

In the past its industries have been restricted to the production of 
the great staple, cotton, and some sugar and tobacco. Little was done 
other than could be accomplished by the crude usages that obtained 
generally throughout the South in the application of slave labor under 
the old regime. 

Now the young men of the country have taken hold of the reins, 
and the plough-handles as well. 

Diversified farming is rapidly becoming the order of the day. More 
corn and grain are being raised ; improved live stock is being intro- 
duced ; lands, instead of being exhausted year after year to produce 
cotton, are being broken deep and rotated with different crops. Ex- 
tensive areas are being put to grass, and year by year the number of 
marketable products is increasing. 

The filling up of Southern Georgia and East and South Florida by 
thousands of people who are turning their attention to fruit culture, has 
created a demand. This has tended to develop in Middle Florida the 
production of corn, grain, bacon, hams, lard, beef, and poultry, and 
given a wonderful impetus to dairy industries to supply those sections 
with butter. 

The establishment of railway facilities, and the introduction of re- 
frigerating cars, and improved shipping packages, has practically made 
of Florida the early vegetable garden for the North and West. And 
this at a season of the year when there is no competition. 

Middle Florida, by virtue of the superiority of her soil, and the 
elevated character of her lands, which exempts them from March 
frosts, is eminently fitted for the conduct of this new and exceedingly 
profitable industry upon a most extensive scale. 

Commencing operations only three years ago, so very satisfactory 
have been the results of this " truck business " with those engaged in 
it, that their example is being rapidly followed by others. New men 
from all parts of the country are dropping in and giving their attention 
to the enterprise. Lands suitably located for the business have sud- 
denly risen in value, and are selling daily to new comers, who improve 
and plant them. 

When made an adjunct to the regular farm operations, and con- 
ducted in conjunction with the keeping of improved live stock, there is 



22 Florida Sectionally Considered — East Florida. 

no question that the growing of early vegetables in the South for North- 
ern markets is a very sure and profitable business. As to whether it can 
be successfully conducted by the operator who on a small piece of land 
confines himself to gardening alone, and depends upon the purchase 
of commercial fertilizers, is to be doubted. 

When one considers the equable and delightful climate, the 
naturally fertile and lasting quality of the soil, the very elevated and 
healthful location, picturesque beauty of the country, excellent and 
abundant supply of pure water, the great diversity of profitable pur- 
suits, facilities for rapid transportation to both Eastern and Western 
markets, the admirable character of the roads, the social and cultivated 
character of the people, the supply of effective labor, the presence of 
good schools, and the comparative absence of fleas, sandflies, and 
mosquitoes, it is not hard to understand why Middle Floridians are so 
proud of their " Piedmont homes," nor why the stranger finds so 
much there to attract him. 



EAST FLORIDA. 

This division of the State of Florida embraces the thirteen coun- 
ties of Nassau, Duval, Baker, Columbia, Suwanee, Alachua, Levy, 
Marion, Volusia, St. John's, Putnam, Clay, and Bradford, and covers 
the area east of Suwanee River and north of the twenty-ninth parallel 
of north latitude. 

Notwithstanding that the city of St. Augustine, in St. John's 
County, is the oldest settlement in the United States, East Florida is 
in most particulars a new country. The town civilization that estab- 
lished itself at Fernandina, Jacksonville, St. Augustine, and Palatka, 
prior to the civil war, did very little toward developing the country 
districts, and except at a few points along the banks of the St. John's, 
there was really very little settlement of the eastern portion of East 
Florida. 

In the counties of Marion, Alachua, Suwanee, and Columbia, 
where the better quality of the soil encouraged agriculture, the devel- 
opment was much more rapid and extended. 

It must be borne in mind by the reader of to-day that, throughout - 
the South in ante-bellum days, the development and prosperity of a 
section depended entirely upon its adaptability to the employment of 
slave labor. The African slave was imported and bred for agricul- 
tural purposes ; and under the very wasteful and expensive methods of 
applying his labor, that ever accompanied his use, the negro could 
only be introduced wherever the lands were fertile and adapted to the 
support of a population by agricultural pursuits. 

As long ago as 1840-45, all lands in the Southern States that could 
be made profitable by negro labor were eagerly taken up, and appro- 
priated to the production of -corn, grain, cotton, tobacco, and sugar. 

The light sandy lands of the pine regions in the South were never 



Florida Sectionally Considered — East Florida. 23 

regarded by old slave-owners as worth the clearing, and consequently 
they have remained standing in the markets for twenty to thirty- five 
years in Florida, at from seventy cents to $1.25 per acre. 

In the counties of Marion and Alachua, in East Florida, there were 
discovered long ago some sections of country where there was a good 
productive soil, resting on clay, but a few inches removed ; and here 
was found the old Southern planter before the war, with his slave 
forces ; and here was developed a considerable degree of prosperity. 
In a somewhat less degree the same facts apply to Columbia 
County, where, in the vicinity of Lake City, are some agricultural 
lands. 

From the foregoing statements, a new-comer to Florida can 
account for the great numbers of negroes now to be found in Marion 
and Alachua, as compared with other counties of East Florida. 
Those were the places, in the old planting days, where the lands were 
good enough to attract the owners of these people. The presence of 
negroes in numbers may be safely counted on in Florida as an evidence 
of good farm land. And their absence from among the population of 
a county is a certain indication that neither corn, cotton, cane, grain, 
nor tobacco has ever been profitably produced there on a scale large 
enough to establish a character. 

It follows from the above that there is only a small part of the 
great territory of East Florida that possesses a soil suited to agricul- 
ture. If the old standpoint of the slave-owner were still to be occupied 
by us, we should feel constrained to treat East Florida as she was 
treated for so many years — leave her to her own solitudes, a compara- 
tively unoccupied waste of thin, sandy land. Her lands are no richer 
now than they were before the war ; not one bushel more of corn can 
be made to-day on her sands than twenty years ago, be the experi- 
menter who he may ; and if the conditions and surroundings of 1850-60 
remained the same to-day, we should look in vain for any very wide- 
spread prosperity in East Florida. 

But those conditions have very materially changed, and even 
greater changes are in immediate prospect. 

Railroads have been built, steamship lines extended, and East 
Florida has virtually been moved from 600 to 1,200 miles nearer the 
centres of civilization, and the cost in time and money of reaching 
those centres reduced to insignificance. These were matters of very 
little moment to the planters of the olden time. A bale of cotton, 
once made, was so much money ; the hauling it one hundred, or 
even two hundred, miles to market, or a seaport, with oxen and 
slaves, that would be otherwise idle, was not an item of expense to be 
charged against the crop, and when once aboard a ship there was no 
waste or damage. The planter generally " drew on his crop," and 
spent the proceeds before it got to market. 

During the period in which these railway and steamship facilities for 
quick transit have been developing, another revolution has been worked 
in the whole means and method of fertilizing in the South. The opening 
of the Carolina phosphate beds, the manufacture and cheap transporta- 



24 Florida Sectionally Considered — East Florida. 

tion of condensed fertilizers, and adoption gradually in the South of a 
system of high culture, or " intense farming," unknown and utterly 
impracticable in former times, enables a man to convert land, hereto- 
fore considered unfit for the purpose, into productive farmsteads, and 
exact from small areas results that, under the old " scratching " sys- 
tem, would have required ten times the surface. 

Then, too, sections of the country that in former days, by reason 
of their remoteness from market, were restricted to the production of 
those commodities that could bear long keeping — such as syrup, sugar, 
cotton, and, tobacco — have now, through the greatly improved oppor- 
tunities of shipment, every facility furnished for the successful hand- 
ling of the most perishable stuffs. 

Hundreds of thousands of acres in East and South Florida, that 
twenty years ago would not have supported the laborers and teams 
attempting to produce corn or cotton on them, have been 
found, under the new condition of things, to be susceptible not 
only of supporting a population, but of making of those who properly 
understand turning the new advantages to account a class of the most 
prosperous, independent, ready-money farmers in the world. 

" Farmer " is scarcely the proper term to apply to the class of pro- 
ducers who are making homes in the greater part of East and South 
Florida. That term conveys the idea ordinarily of. the combina- 
tion of interests that embraces the handling of live stock, especially 
improved cattle, swine, and sheep, in conjunction with staple crops of 
husbandry. It is not orthodox to disassociate the idea of double-ploughs, 
sub-soilers, reapers, threshers, corn-cribs, grain-bins, hay-mows, etc., 
etc., with a farmer ; and of these things East and South Florida know 
nothing. 

The soils there are not adapted to the growth of grasses, or, at 
least, grasses of a nutritious and civilized character, and consequently 
the care of good cattle or live stock of any kind is abandoned. Cattle 
and hogs, or an apology for both, run on the " range" in considerable 
numbers, and are about as thin as they can be and live, and either for 
beef, milk, or pork, such stock is about as poor as it gets to be 
anywhere in the world. But, to get back to the matter of the farmer : 
there are many people looking toward Florida, especially from the 
Eastern and Middle States, who do not care to "farm;" they never 
were farmers, but they are tired of the severe climate of the North, and 
desirous of finding comfortable homes in a more genial one. Ordi- 
narily the means of these people are limited, and even if they desired it, 
they could not, on the score of expense, purchase 320 to 1,000 acres 
of the grass-producing agricultural lands of Middle Florida. Such 
persons feel the necessity of engaging in some profitable pursuit as a 
means of immediate livelihood. They have not the means to buy a 
ready-made orange grove, nor the chameleon-like organization that 
would enable them to live on air until one newly started comes into 
bearing. 

In the purchase of a small parcel of land along the line of some 
of the numerous railroads now operating and building in East Florida, 



Florida Sectionally Considered — East Florida. 25 

along the banks of the grand old St. John's, or the margin of any 
of the innumerable clear-water lakes of the interior, traversed by 
steamers, no matter how poor and sandy it may be, such persons find 
what they want. The climate is the first and greatest attraction, and 
healthfulness is pretty well insured when they forget about half 
they learned at home about eating, and learn to adapt their food to 
their new climatic condition. They become gardeners, horticulturists, 
apiarists, etc., and can stay out-doors for twelve long months without 
having a sunstroke or frost-bite. No matter if the land is thin and sandy, 
the first steamer dumps a ton of concentrated fertilizer of some sort 
at your wharf, and your five or ten acres is put on a par with better 
lands elsewhere, and at a cost of time and money perhaps less than 
might have to be expended in the North or West in labor alone to get 
the clods pulverized and land in shape for seed. Besides, an East 
Florida gardener finds his market in New York, Boston, and Philadel- 
phia; he sells in these cities delicacies at a season when such things 
cannot be obtained from any other quarter to people who are willing 
and eager to pay roundly for them. He has only one-quarter of an 
acre in strawberries, perhaps ; but then he gets from this little 
" patch " two hundred and fifty quarts of shipping berries. He sends 
them to New York early in February, and, say, for the first one hun- 
dred quarts gets $2.50 per quart, or $250. The next one hundred 
quarts bring him $100, and the last 50 quarts, that go forward some 
time in March, fetch only forty cents per quart, or $20 more. 
This gives him $370 from a little patch of ground scarcely larger than 
a cemetery lot, and with little more trouble than the picking. Now, as 
long as a man can do this he can afford to pay pretty high prices for 
poor land, and lavish the " sto' minyoe," as the negroes call it, on his 
garden. So with tomatoes, beans, and other truck. Profits are enor- 
mous, if you hit it right, and failures mean stupendous fizzles when you 
chance to miss the mark. 

Another, and indeed much the most prominent, industry in East 
Florida is the growing of oranges. 

Orange-grove making is the pursuit that first infused life into Florida 
after the late war ; and the field first occupied and devoted to this 
business was the region along the St. John's River. 

More recently the opening up of the counties south of the 29th par- 
allel have carried the orange-planting industry much further south, 
and the northern portion of South Florida and the southern part of 
East Florida have come to be called the " Orange Belt" of the State. 

There are sound reasons for ascribing to this orange belt many ad- 
vantages for orange-culture over more northern portions of East 
Florida, or the extreme southern parts of the State ; but we are very 
much inclined to think that rather too much is being made of any such 
advantages. Or, in other words, there is no part of East Florida in 
which the orange does not thrive. 

There is certainly much apprehension to be felt from the effects of 
severe and unexpected cold waves in the counties of Nassau, Duval, 
Baker, and part of Columbia, which, when they come, do more or less 



26 Florida Sectionally Considered — East Florida. 

injury to young trees, and newly-formed fruit. But the experience of 
forty years past is that such cold waves are of the rarest occurrence. 
Twice only, during that period, have they been of such severity as to 
materially injure a crop, and never of a character to kill or seriously 
injure trees properly cared for. 

There is, probably, very much yet to be learned upon the subject of 
the range, direction, and intensity of these cold waves which sometimes 
visit Florida. They are exceedingly erratic in their course, often seem- 
ing to rise and pass over a section, again to make themselves felt in 
localities much further south. 

Just how far down the peninsula of Florida can positive exemption 
be claimed from injury, by cold to the orange crop, the writer is un- 
able to state ; but certainly the cold wave which occurred in December, 
1880, reached very much below sections that had heretofore boasted 
of being beyond the possibility of such a thing. 

As time progresses other enemies to the orange, and casualties more 
seriously to be apprehended than low temperature, may develop them- 
selves. The scale insect, which first appeared in Florida many years 
ago, is acknowledged to have killed all the trees then in the State. 
Men have learned to guard against the ravages of that particular pest ; 
but who knows when some other more formidable enemy may appear ? 

It can be truthfully claimed, however, that there is no part of East 
Florida where oranges cannot be profitably grown. And, unless on 
the one score of apprehension of a possible catastrophe from one of 
those very unusual cold snaps, an intending settler should decide to 
go south of 28 Q latitude, we should feel disposed to say that his chances 
of success in orange-culture would be just as well assured in Nassau, 
or any other of the northern counties, as in any portion of the State 
north of the latitude last mentioned. • 

We have spoken of the lands of East Florida as being generally 
poor, except in some parts of Marion, Alachua," Columbia, and Suwanee 
Counties. This assertion, however, requires some explanation, for fear 
of misleading minds entirely unfamiliar with the character of Florida 
lands. 

All the pine lands of Florida are poor, when compared with the allu- 
vial soils of the Western States, and a man coming from the black 
lands of the Western prairies must feel his soul sicken when he looks 
for the first time upon the sandy soil of the pine woods, and thinks of 
trying to farm on such ground. 

But our Western friend can learn a good deal if he will keep his 
eyes open. 

Intermingled with the predominating sand there are throughout the 
piney lands of Florida quantities of lime, and great variety of shell 
remains that in most cases are accompanied by other plant-food 
elements. 

These qualities enable Florida sands to readily assimilate whatever 
of vegetable, animal, or gaseous character is offered to them. The 
effort to recuperate the poorest Florida land by rotating and turning 
under fertilizing crops is attended with most marvelous success. The 



Florida Sectionally Considered — East Florida. 27 

truth of the matter is, that, in these sea-fanned and semi-tropical lati- 
tudes, half of the soil, or at least half its producing energy, is in the 
atmosphere. 

We not only bask in the sun-warmed air, but actually farm it. 
Just how much of the productive power of East Florida's sandy 
soil is attributable to this source of energy, we cannot undertake to de- 
termine, but there is every reason to believe that if the lands of this 
section were as rich in plant food as the alluvial bottoms of the Ohio 
or the Missouri, under the influence of our semi-tropical sun, and rain 
supplying Gulf currents, they would soon become utterly uninhabitable 
by man; be he the sturdiest tree-feller and bush-chopper that ever 
came out of the Pine-tree State. 

Florida would be a jungle that would defy the most daring pioneer. 
On the other hand, we are disposed to believe that if the sandy lands 
that do exist in East Florida, and on which can now be seen flourish- 
ing orange groves and vegetable gardens for which the owners would 
not entertain an offer of $2,000 per acre, were moved to the north- 
ward, and away from the rain belts and sun baths of their present 
latitudes, they would be utterly valueless for any purpose save to 
sprinkle a^fioor or supply crude material for a glass factory. 

So that the man who is disposed to turn his nose up when he first 
encounters these sandy lands, and hears them, as he thinks, absurdly 
called " soils," has first to observe a bit, and consider the conditions 
before forming too hasty a judgment. 

About the first decided set-back his skepticism encounters will 
be the bland and matter-of-course air with which an East Florida land 
agent will offer him a ten-acre lot for one thousand dollars. 

" One hundred dollars per acre for that sandbank ?" 

" Yes, sir, and a bargain, I can tell you, at that. Why, look up the 
road there a little way. Five years ago I sold that twenty-acre tract 
to the present owner for ten dollars per acre. He put out 600 orange- 
trees on ten acres of it, at a cost of one dollar each, and he has since 
refused one thousand dollars per acre. But, sir, he did not take it ; he 
would have been a fool to have taken it. Just calculate, in four years 
more his 600 trees will be in full bearing, and he will have 600 more on 
the other ten acres that will be in bearing, say, in five years. Twelve 
hundred bearing trees will give him, say, the first year, at 300 oranges 
to the' tree, 360,000 oranges, worth, at 2 1-2 cents apiece, $9,000, and 
the next year he may safely count on 500 oranges to the tree, worth, 
for his entire crop, $15,000. And the next year — well, you see how it is." 

These revelations are perhaps followed up by a quiet talk, on some 
hotel piazza or steamboat deck, with some settler he meets from his 
own State, who says he came here twelve years ago, and was fortunate 
enough to find a piece of Government land that suited him, which he 
got hold of at a cost of $1.25 per acre. It was rather remote from market, 
and away from the river and railway. In fact, it was a rather dismal out- 
look ; but his means were limited, and he could not afford to do better. 
His wife's health was such that he did not dare risk another winter 
North, so he had to make the best of it. 



Florida Sect tonally Considered — Hast Florida. 

Labor was scarceand the land poor, and it took a good deal of 
ready money foi fertiliser s, etc., bul lie managed to pul out 400 trees 
the nrsl yearj and has been adding i<> them every yeai sift e. 1 te found 
people dropping in around him pretty fast, and soon the vacant land 
w.v, .ill entered in .1 year or tw<> in- sold off two ten acre lots of his 
, ni 1 v t"i ten dollars per acre. This helped him along .mil kept the poi 
boiling, and enabled him to go a bil into the vegetable business. Then 
the railroad came along. He has had three crops from his first trees, 
and each yeai the crop is Increasing as later plantings mature. He 
sold his lasl season's crop to a man who took them on the trees and 
paid $3,500 tor them, and he thinks his present crop will bring double 
1 rial sum. 

So the story is told over and over again by men Iron) ;ill ojuartersof 

the world. The prospecting visitor hears the matter talked by every- 
body He hears nothing else talked, Thewords "grove," "bearing 

trees," "SOUr slumps," "thousand," "ten I hoiisand," "sweet seed- 
lings/' "twenty thousand, " " high hammock," " I. ike front," "lirst- 

class pine land, "thirty thousand," rill the gaps between the revolu- 
tions of the Steamer's wheels, and by the lime he reaches I'alatka he 
has just the worst ease of Orange lever iuur inahlc. 

And then it is thai lie falls an easy and willing victim to the 
wily vendor of Choice locations, and is in a desperate hurry to 

secure a tract of the very sand he regarded so contemptuously two 
days before. 

We doubt not some such experience as this has come to many 

thousand people within the past ten years, and in most cases they are 
t.. he found to day occupying computable homes thai enterprise and 
taste have eaused to spring up like magic in all the accessible parts 

ot Easl Florida. 

True it is, ami a stranm-i- is soon struck with the laet that nowhere 

perhaps can one find so many people ready to "sell out" to new- 
comers as in Bast Florida. 

Ordinarily this might be attributed to somejjeneral cause of dissat- 
isfaelion prevailing among these new settlers, not apparent o\\ the sur 
laee ; but, in la. I, it is attributable to a very different cause, or rather 
combination oi causes. 

Prominent amomy these is the fact that not only a large 
amount ol real sturdy pluck and enterprise is neeessary to enable a man 
Successfully tO Contend With a tract Of raw woodland and convert it 

into a finished, comfortable home, with a bearing orange grove around 
it. but considerable time is necessary to do this, and during all that 

time a constant outlay of ready monc\\:\\\d no chance of return for many 
years. 

The Immigrant who goes to the great Wesl may expend his entire 
means in getting himself established the first year, but the second 
season sees his wheat ami corn ready for market, and some of his 
money COmlng back, or, in other words, he is m about as prosperous a 
Condition at the beginning Of his third year as he is likely to be at the 
end of his tenth or twentieth. His operations are of an annual char- 



Florida Stctionally Considered— East Florida* 19 

actcr, and the resuli of his efforts is reached whenever he gets as much 

land under cultivation as he ;ind his le.iiu < .111 handle. 

Bui the East Florida orange-grower plays for a much largei Btake, 
If he can hold ins grip for ten years, even on but ten at res in orange- 
trees, he is a rich man. Upon an investment contemptibly insignificant, 
and practically within the means of almost any industrious man, he may 
surely expect an income in tenor twelve years thai would represent 
the interest to be derived from several hundred thousand dollars in* 
vested m United States bonds or other good securities. 

These facts are, of course, very tempting and seductive, and cause 

many a man, and woman loo, to embark in the enterprise, possessing 

all the energy o! purpose necessary tor the undertaking, bul lacking 
the steady source ol ready money to enable them to carry oul the pro 

ject. Indeed, hundreds of saimuinc tempers are so dazed with the 
splendor ol I he end to be attained that they fail to fully weigh and con- 
sider the means necessary for its attainment. 

Tins is true of all other businesses in a greater or less degree, and we 

find men in every walk ol life who have incautiously undeilal.cn more 

than circumstances will always adfflil ol their accomplishin 

it is just in this particular thai i irange-growing has an incomparable 
advantage ovei almosl any other pursuit or venture we know of. There 
is no such thing connected with the undertaking as an absolute failure. 
A tree once pul in the ground is there, and there ii will stay; so 
much is done The firs! year it grows some, and 8 pel cent, or 10 
pei cent, of the tune thai must elapse before this investment of, say 
50 cents or $i will be worth $10 per annum has passed. 

Another pear rolls by ; the settler's means are getting smaller, but 
his tree i and another round per cent, of his period oi proba- 

tion is removed. The ten acres he purchased two pears before, in a 
wild, rough state, has 700 to 1,000 young trees on it In a thrifty con- 
dition, and is tWO years nearer a bearing period. Now the tWO \< 

of time thai have been killed is the profit on this mans investment. He 
is worth mm h more money than when he began, although some yi 
vei removed from a time when the golden harvest shall gladden his 
heart and reward his patience and pluck, Bui he sees thai his means' are 
not going to hold out. He recognizes thai he underrated the 1 icp< nse 
oi the thing, and thai he cannot pull through. Unlike his stalwart 

neighbor, he cannot hire himsell OUl as a laborer, and ihus support 

his familj wide his trees are growing; he happens to be a delii ite 
man who 1 ime to Florida to recovei from the drain upon his system 
of b onfini mi nt. Why not grow vegetables, ami thus Bupporl 

himself until the bearing time comes? 

Why, because it takes ready nionev, and lols of it, tO gTOW vege- 
tables, jusl as ii docs orange-trees, and our friend has none No, 

he sees his mistake ; but sees too that he can sell t lie. plaee ol his (for 

purchasers are plenty; every train or steamei brings them in numbers) 

for a great deal more money that) il has cost him; and with the pio- 
Ceeds of this sale he can find another lol Of wild kind one hundred 
miles further down in the woods, and with his enlarged means and 



30 Florida Sectionally Considered — East Florida. 

experience, and the advantage of 10,000 two-year-old seedlings he has 
in nursery, he can begin again under more favorable auspices, with no 
fear of failure. 

He finds on the nearest hotel piazza, or lolling under the oaks in 
any of the parks, numbers of intelligent visitors who are just as much 
enchanted with the idea of an orange grove as he was three years ago, 
with the wide difference that they have the means to buy the desired 
thing in an advanced state of progress. 

In a day or two we see it announced that " Mr. Take-advantage-of- 

the-circumstances has disposed of his handsome young grove near 

to Mr. Ready-to- pay-for-a-good-thing-when-he-finds-it, for the sum 
of $15,000, and we understand that Mr. T. contemplates removing to 
Hillsboro County, where he will plant another grove, and engage in 
the extensive culture of pineapples." 

This is indeed the history of many a Northern man's experience in 
Florida. Many a one has become rich in planting groves who never 
owned a bearing tree. This is why so many of limited means under- 
take this long-waiting business of grove-making every day, and why 
almost any man who owns a young grove is ready to sell. Every year 
added to the age of a grove enhances its value materially, especially 
where, as is the case in East Florida, each year swells the number of 
wealthy people coming into the country, anxious to buy ready-made 
or well-advanced groves. 

It has been quite the custom for interested persons to talk or write 
extensively of the easy, certain and inexpensive methods of growing 
rich in cultivating oranges and early vegetables in East Florida. 
Statements are recklessly made that one has only to buy young trees, 
stick them out, and cultivate the space between them in vegetables for 
shipment North, to be certain of an easy and comfortable support 
from the sale of his truck crops while he waits for his grove to come 
into bearing. This is utterly untrue. In the whole range of man's 
pursuits there is perhaps none attended with greater risks than the 
production of marketable vegetable crops. 

There is a degree of industrious perseverance, nice discriminating 
judgment, wide range of observation, careful attention to details, and 
ready familiarity with nature's mysteries and man's cunning, necessary 
to the successful pursuit of this highest phase of- agriculture, that ex- 
ceptionally few men attain. And their efforts prove satisfactory and 
profitable only where the conditions are most favorable. 

In East Florida the most serious drawback to this industry is the 
almost universal poverty of the soil. Other than this, the conditions 
are excellent. But even this is a difficulty in a great measure to be 
overcome by judicious fertilizing with commercial manures. 

Nevertheless there are men in East Florida, and they are not scarce, 
who have met with fair success at growing vegetables on poor, sandy 
land. This has been done by heavy fertilizing, the selection of certain 
kinds of vegetables that require the least fertility of soil, and the ob- 
taining of crops ready for market so early as to have no competitor, and 
thus realizing fancy prices. 






Florida Sect tonally Considered — East Florida. 31 

Among the list of vegetable crops that experience has shown can be 
handled profitably in East Florida for shipment North, cucumbers, 
peas, string-beans, and tomatoes are perhaps the most reliable. 

Vast quantities of these commodities are annually produced in East 
Florida, and the extension and improvement of the business is rapidly 
helping to better the condition of the people. Railroad men and others 
directly interested in the development of this industry, and who give 
the closest attention to its history and progress, express the opinion 
that the business is to assume gigantic proportions in the near future, 
and will, both in its extensiveness and the profitableness of its results, 
soon become a formidable rival of orange-culture. 

The absence of good grasses in East Florida is certainly a great 
drawback to this section ; but the proximity of a dairy region like that 
lying in Middle Florida, west of the Suwanee River, greatly relieves this 
inconvenience, enabling the people either to obtain fresh and cheap 
supplies of dairy products, or excellent thoroughbred cattle. 

In the matter of hotels, railways, and steamboats, no part of Florida 
can compare with this Eastern Section in facilities for comfortably 
entertaining the great tide of restless winter visitors who drift into 
these sunny latitudes in search of health. 

Fernandina, Jacksonville, St. Augustine, Ocala, Palatka and Gains- 
ville, the most prominent towns, are well provided with commo- 
dious and well kept hotels, while at all points along the St. John's, and 
at the smaller inland towns, less pretentious, but comfortable quarters 
can be found. 

In the matter of railway communication, East Florida is admirably 
supplied. Besides the trunk line of the Florida Transit and Peninsula 
R. R., extending from the Atla/itic at Fernandina to the warm waters 
of the Gulf at Cedar Keys, there has recently been completed a branch 
of this road from Fernandina to Jacksonville direct, which, in addition 
to the great commercial advantages resulting to both places, practically 
puts the splendid surf-bathing and delightful beach of Amelia Island 
at the very doors of the Jacksonville people. 

The Savannah, Florida and Western Railway has also completed a 
branch from Way Cross on the main line in Southern Georgia, to 
Jacksonville, thus greatly lessening the distance to that city to all 
eastern and northern travel, and giving to both Nassau and Duval 
Counties additional facilities for the location of fruit and truck farms 
immediately on the line of roads, whose absence would again consign 
a large area of these counties to waste and neglect. 

The Jacksonville, St. Augustine and Halifax River Railway Com- 
pany has very recently completed their road from Jacksonville to the 
"ancient city" (St. Augustine), greatly facilitating the means of reach- 
ing that point, so far as time and money are concerned, but at a very 
great sacrifice of pleasure in the ride up the St. John's, with its villa- 
dotted shores, 49 miles to Tocoi, and thence by rail to St. Augustine. 

The Florida Central Railway passes out from Jacksonville to the 
westward, intersects the Florida Transit and Peninsula Road at Bald- 
win, near the western edge of Duval County, thence across the extreme 



32 Florida Sectionally Considered — East Florida. 

southern tip of Nassau County, through the County of Baker, where 
on its line is located the pleasant little village of Sanderson, a county 
seat. Thence across the middle of Columbia County, passing the very 
prosperous and attractive town of Lake City, situated in the midst of 
perhaps the very best belt of pine land country in Florida for farming 
purposes. Thence tending slightly to the northwest this F. C. & W. 
Railway crosses the fine County of Suwanee, passing the town of Live 
Oak, a flourishing place of some trade and enterprise, at which point is 
intersected the Live Oak and Rowland's Bluff R. R., which is an ex- 
tension of the Florida Branch of the Savannah, Florida and Western 
R. R., from Dupont, a point on the main line in Clinch County, 
Georgia, to Rowland's Bluff, on the Suwanee River. From Live Oak 
the F. C. & W. road passes on to the Suwanee River — which it crosses 
at the town of Ellaville — and here the frontier of East Florida is 
reached. 

On the west bank of the St. John's River, at Green Cove 
Spring, in Clay County, begins the Green Cove Spring and Melrose 
Railroad, which extends southwesterly entirely across Clay County to 
the town of Melrose, situated in the northwest corner of Putnam County. 
The iron is laid and the road is in operation about ten miles back from 
the river, and work on it is progressing rapidly. This will secure 
excellent transportation facilities to this part of one of the best counties 
in East Florida. 

At Palatka the Florida Southern Railway passes westward for 
thirty or more miles through Putnam County, enters Alachua County, 
and intersects at Hawthorn a branch of the Florida Transit and Pe- 
ninsula Railroad running from Waldo, on the main line in the northern 
part of Alachua County, to the busy town of Ocala, near the centre of 
the great County of Marion. From Hawthorn the Florida Southern 
goes westward to Perry Station, where a southern branch diverges to 
Ocala, while the main line goes to Gainesville, from which point it is now 
building to Lake City in Columbia County. 

The Tropical Peninsular Railroad, chartered from Ocala, in Marion 
County, to Leesburg. in Sumter County, and thence to Tampa, is in 
operation south from Ocala to Leesburg, and will soon reach Sumter- 
ville, in Sumter County. 

This about completes the list of railroads now in running order in 
East Florida. But while we write, more than 3,000 men are at work in 
East and South Florida, and spikes have probably been driven home 
since this paragraph was begun. Every week adds to the miles put in 
operation, and increases the acres of available land brought into 
market. 

So much has been written and rewritten upon the subjects of the 

CLIMATE AND HEALTHFULNESS OF EAST FLORIDA, 

that the topic is quite threadbare ; and yet very little has been said on 
the subject that is wholly true. 

Why enthusiastic people should feel it incumbent on them to 
exaggerate the admirable qualities of Florida's climate, and misrepresent 



Florida Sectionally Considered — East Florida. 33 

by hiding its objectionable features, we are at loss to understand. For 
certainly good features are as many and the bad features as few as in 
any section of the civilized world. If everything else in Florida were 
as satisfactory as its climate, it would, indeed, be the most desirable 
part of the earth. 

Throughout Florida there are some days every winter, and during 
some winters many days, when the weather is very disagreeable and 
trying to invalids who have come South for the benefits of the climate 
alone. Such people take great offence at these spells of weather, and 
after drinking in the balmy air and sunshine for weeks at a time, out of 
doors under the trees, a change for only a day or two that confines 
them to the house induces them often to declare the Florida climate a 
delusion and a snare. Such people forget that instead of one day, or 
even a week of bleakness, they would, if at home, have for months to 
endure ten times as disagreeable a condition of things. 

The current of Arctic water that comes south off the Atlantic coast 
of the Northern States, and intervenes between the shores of the Con- 
tinent and the western edge of the Gulf Stream, extends itself well 
down the Atlantic coast of Florida, and is a broad barrier to the Gulf 
Stream as far down as Cape Canaveral. The waters of this Arctic 
belt are many degrees lower in temperature than the north-flowing 
waters of the Mexican Stream. * The result is that whenever the wind 
is from the northeast or east during the winter months, the air is 
chill and disagreeable in those portions of Florida subjected to its in- 
fluence. 

Not only this, but when two currents of such marked differences of 
temperature come in contact, the vapor arising from the one is con- 
densed by the cold air overhanging the other, and the result is wet, 
foggy weather. The northeast or east wind drives in-shore great 
mantles of the ocean fogs and the dampness of these winds makes them 
the more hateful. 

These winds do occur. They are the exceptions in our winter 
weather; but still, when they blow, East Florida, owing to her geograph- 
ical position, cannot escape them. They are the same currents that 
occasionally drive in-shore up the entire Atlantic coast of the United 
States, and the only difference in them — between Florida and on Long 
Island — is that the southern sun takes about 75 per cent, of the chill 
out of them before they reach the former. 

No other part of the State of Florida is as much exposed to these 
damp, chill northeasters as the territory north of Cape Canaveral, and 
extending westward or inland for perhaps seventy-five miles. 

This is the one real cause of complaint, if such it be, that can be 
urged against the winter climate of East Florida. In summer the period 
of high temperatures lasts pretty evenly from the middle of May to 
the middle of September ; often a little later. 

About the heakhfulness of East Florida, or indeed any part of 
Florida, it is difficult to be authoritative. 

Leaving out of the problem the matter of occasional fevers of a 
light form during the summer months (and of these more presently), 



34 Florida Sectionally Considered— -East Florida. ***" . 

there is really very little to be said on the score of diseases to be appre-' 
headed in any part of Florida, and we are satisfied, from twenty years' 
knowledge of East Florida, during two years of which period we 
generally slept on the ground, with one blanket, and no roof other than 
the forest trees, that that section of the State is quite as healthful as any 
part of Florida. 

*■■ Men sicken and die there, as they do everywhere else, but none of 
the formidable diseases that exist further north, and are so fatal to child- 
life especially, such as scarlet fever, diphtheria, measles, and conges- 
tion, are ever of a severe type in the Florida climate, and such things 
are not dreaded as they are in colder latitudes. 

** It is of the rarest occurrence that any throat or lung troubles origi- 
nate in Florida, and quite as rarely does its climate fail to be of benefit 
to visitors or settlers who come here affected with disorders of that 
nature. 

One of the most common inquiries ttiade concerning Florida's cli- 
mate, by men from sections further north, is whether a man from such 
places can " work out " in a Florida sun with impunity. 

We think that, with the exception of the perfect security in Florida 
against sun-stroke, a case of which has never been known in the State, 
there can be little difference between working out in a Florida sun or 
an Ohio sun. But, certain it is, it cannot be done on the same diet. 

When northern men learn to imitate the Creoles .and Spanish 
Americans of the tropical and semi-tropical latitudes in matters of diet 
and clothing, they will have little cause to complain of the hot sun. 

Our observation is that most northern people make themselves sick 
in summer when they attempt to work in an August and September 
sun ; but we could never see the slightest occasion or profit in working 
out during those months. The spring crops are harvested, and it is 
yet too early to begin the planting of the fall crops. People of all 
southern latitudes learned 'ages ago to take matters easily. Along 
the shores of the Mediterranean the same customs obtain now with 
regard to the proper division and employment of time that existed 
in the time of the Cassars. The peoples among whom these southern 
customs had their origin have passed from the face of the earth. 
A great tide of northern immigrants swept over their land, by whom 
such customs were set at defiance and ridiculed. But while the con- 
querors and the conquered, together with their very languages, have 
passed away, their customs yet remain, and have followed correspond- 
ing latitudes into the Western World. 

The energetic northern man, migrating to Florida, is apt to set 
at defiance the tropical sun, and wage a relentless war upon night air. 
He adheres to his accustomed northern diet, builds a little sweat-box of 
a cottage on a northern plan, and goes slashing away at his work as 
though there were seven months of winter ahead of him to make pro- 
vision against. But, alas ! before that season arrives he discovers that 
he has a liver in him which seems larger and harder than Plymouth 
Rock. 

He begins to talk of the debilitating effects of the southern climate, 



Florida Sect ion ally Considered — East Florida. 35 

and discusses learnedly and bitterly on miasmatic and malarial poi- 
sons. 

This man wrestles with the fever for a year or two ; his Yankee 
pluck enables him in most cases to hold his own, fever or no fever. 
Gradually it dawns upon him that every one else in his neighborhood 
is not an absolute know-nothing. Little by little, his conceit is ex- 
changed for southern habits, and in course of time we find our industri- 
ous friend taking things coolly on a shady piazza, while " Remus " or 
" Julius Caesar " plies the hoe and guides the plough in the field hard 
by. For a real southern Southerner look to a converted Yankee. 

This process of becoming acclimated after one gets south is expen- 
sive and severe. 

Before the northerner leaves home for a southern latitude, let him 
for a moment consider the ways of people who for hundreds of years 
have adapted themselves to southern suns. No man of sense can con- 
clude that the Egyptians, the Arabs, the Greeks, the Romans, the 
Moors, the modern Italians, Spaniards, Portuguese, Spanish Americans, 
and the Anglo-Saxon and French Creole people of the Southern States 
have all been lazy idiots, that could only be enlightened by northern 
philosophy. 

Let him ask himself why the Mexican, Brazilian, or Cuban spends 
large sums of money building an adobe house, with heavy walls and 
roof of masonry, distressingly plain in its architecture ; when, for one- 
tenth the sum, he could erect a wooden cottage of modern style ? Or 
why the Louisiana Creole affects cooling fruit syrups, lime-juice, 
white linen, panama hat, and low-quartered pumps, instead of beer, tea, 
quinine, woolen-wear, brimless Derby, and boots ? 

Let northern folk, when they quit their native latitudes and seek 
to make homes in the South, come prepared to observe and learn, and 
not determined to teach, in those things relating to climate and modes 
of life at least, and we will ensure them against much needless incon- 
venience and suffering that fall to the lot of many a poor fellow who 
sets out to display his northern energy under a Florida sun. 

A very large proportion of the population of East Florida are 
settlers from New England, and the thrift and enterprise of those 
people has made itself apparent in a most marked degree. 

The Middle and Western States also have contributed largely 
toward building up the waste places, and quite a number from foreign 
shores have cast their lot there. 

Every one who has settled there has not been entirely successful, 
any more than in other parts of the world, and dissatisfied parties are 
often seen moving away, some to the southern or western parts of the 
State, and others back to the homes from which they originally came. 

But the population is steadily increasing. 

A larger proportion of the settlers in Florida are people of culture 
and moderate means than is ordinarily the case with those moving to 
new States. 

Much brighter days are in store for East Florida than she has yet 
seen. 



35 Florida Sectionally Considered — South Florida. 

The extension of railroads, south and west, will divert part of the 
tide of settlers who have heretofore selected East Florida, mainly on 
account of her superior facilities for transportation ; but so rapid is 
the increase of immigration to the State that the number of those 
who are settling in East Florida is much greater than that of those 
who are leaving. 



SOUTH FLORIDA. 

South Florida, comprising the Counties of Brevard, Dade, Monroe, 
Manatee, Polk, Hillsboro', Hernando, Sumter, and Orange, a territory 
of 27,500 square miles in extent, is a region which has of late years 
attracted more widespread and interested attention than any other sec- 
tion of the American Union. Its peculiar characteristics of climate and 
productions possess a romantic interest for the majority of people of 
colder latitudes, difficult to define, yet substantial enough to form an 
important, if unacknowledged, element in the progress which has marked 
its recent history. Much of its territory, known as the Everglades, is 
an unsurveyed and unexplored region, of which the possibilities, in an 
agricultural or commercial point of view, are as utterly unknown as 
those of the interior of Africa ; while the remaining portion has become, 
within a few years past, the seat of an active and prosperous civiliza- 
tion. 

Nearly every known portion of this vast region offers substantial 
attractions to the tourist, the sportsman, and the seeker after health or 
pleasure, as well as to the immigrant desiring to engage in commercial 
pursuits, in the production of fruits and vegetables, or in the more 
substantial, but equally profitable, staples — corn, cotton, tobacco, rice, 
and sugar. 

On the Atlantic side of this peninsular region, extending a distance 
of nearly one hundred miles, is the Indian River, a beautiful sheet of 
salt water, varying in width from one to seven miles, and separated from 
the waters of the Atlantic by a continuous narrow strip of land which 
extends without a break from a point near the 29th parallel of latitude 
southward to Indian River Inlet, a distance of about 120 miles. Below 
the Inlet, and extending in like manner some forty miles further south, 
is a continuation of this vast salt-water lagoon, known as the St. Lucie 
Sound, which terminates at Jupiter Inlet. The country lying along the 
Indian River, chiefly in Brevard County, is famous for the production 
of the celebrated " Indian River oranges," which are claimed to be of 
finer quality than those raised in any other section of the State ; and 
for pineapples, which are being raised in large numbers. This region 
also possesses peculiar attractions for the sportsman, and its delightful 
winter climate renders it especially fitted for the enjoyment of camp life. 
The belt of country immediately adjacent to the river is covered with 
a heavy growth of pine forest, standing on a gently undulating grass- 
clad upland, clear of undergrowth, and presenting the appearance of a 
vast park. Occasional openings and clumps of live-oaks and palmetto- 






Florida Sectionally Considered — South Florida. $? 

trees add variety to the landscape ; and the rapidly inci easing- number 
of clearings and settlements, orange groves, pineapple fields, and vege- 
table farms, add to, rather than detract from, the many natural charms 
of the scenery. 

Westward from this strip of timbered lands and rich, well-drained 
soil, lie vast prairies, affording pasturage for innumerable cattle. In- 
jurious frosts seldom visit this region, and the most tender semi- 
tropical fruits are cultivated with almost universal success. Cocoanut- 
trees can be grown along the more southern coast, and the sugar-cane 
attains here its greatest perfection, ripening fully, and requiring to be 
replanted only every seventh or eighth year. 

The country lying immediately south of the Indian River region, 
comprising Dade County, is, with the exception of a narroAV strip along 
the coast, an unknown and uninhabited territory, of vast extent, known 
as the Everglades, and supposed to be almost entirely submerged for 
the greater portion of each year. This region extends into and occu- 
pies a large portion of Monroe County, which adjoins Dade on the 
west, and has a coast line on the Gulf of Mexico of about one hundred 
and seventy-five miles, not including the Florida Keys. Any attempt 
to describe this terra incognita would be vain, as little is known of it, 
save that it consists of a vast swamp, or saw-grass marsh, interspersed 
with numerous small islands or hummocks, some of which were visited 
by the soldiers of the United States Army during the Seminole Wars. 

No white man has ever thoroughly explored it. A few of the " cow- 
men " in South Florida have some acquaintance with portions of its 
borders and a few of the beaten paths that lead to Indian settlements. 
Two years ago a single white man dropped a tiny canoe into the 
waters of the Suwanee River where it is crossed by the Florida Central 
and Western Railway, and made his way down the Gulf coast of the 
peninsula — entered the Caloosahatchie River — ascended it — and worked 
his way into the great dismal, watery waste of Okeechobee. On this 
shoreless inland sea of solitude he wandered for eight days and nights, 
searching for the mouth of the Kissimmee River. This lonely adven- 
turer was the editor of this periodical — Mr. C. K. Munroe, of New 
York, and there is every reason to believe that he was the first white 
man, or perhaps the first man of any color, who ever took a boat into 
Okeechobee from the Gulf 

This exploitwas only a little over two years ago. Since then, Major 
Williams, of the New Orleans Times-Democrat, with an exploring party 
entered the great lake from the Kissimmee, and reached the Gulf by 
way of the Caloosahatchie. A glance at the map will show that there is 
yet a vast domain, quite one hundred miles long, north and south, with 
an average width of 60 or 80 miles, over which no surveyor's chain has 
ever been stretched, and of which all knowledge is as conjectural as of 
the interior of the Dark Continent beyond the path of Stanley. 

Such parts of this great savannah as have been surveyed have passed, 
under the provisions of the Swamp and Overflowed Land Act of Con- 
gress, from the General Government to the State of Florida ; and it is 
largely of these lands that the purchase of 4,000,000 acres from the 



38 Florida Sectionally Considered — South Florida. 

State, by Hamilton Disston, of Philadelphia, consists. Such a purchase 
would have been madness in any one possessed of less nerve, money, 
and executive ability, than Mr. Disston ; for to make them available, 
or in any way marketable, it became, first, necessary to drain them, the 
accomplishment of which piece of engineering involved the lowering of 
Okeechobee's broad surface many feet. The bailing out of a lake 50 
miles long and 30 in width, fed by rivers and creeks, is somewhat of 
an undertaking, even in these days of gigantic engineering schemes ; 
but the ends to be accomplished — the reclamation of millions of what 
are suspected to be the richest lands on the continent, and they consti- 
tuting wholly the only bit of semi-tropical territory over which our 
nation's flag waves — was an inducement worth an earnest endeavor. 

With the organization of the Atlantic and Gulf Coast Canal and 
Okeechobee Land and Drainage Company, Mr. Disston began the 
work ; and in less than two years the long-submerged shores Of the 
mysterious inland sea have risen above the waters, a wide and deep 
water-way has been made through the broad fields of mud and saw- 
grass that interposed between the western edge of the lake and the 
navigable channel of the Caloosahatchie. 

Miles and miles of country have been drained ; the most sanguine 
expectations of the resolute and adventurous projectors have been even 
more than realized, both as to the practicability and cost of the enter- 
prise and the very valuable character of the land thus made available. 

The Company claim that a soil of most exceptional fertility and of 
great depth is here to be found, where the climate is better suited to 
the culture of sugar-cane than anywhere else on the globe ; and that 
the production of sugar is to be the great pursuit in this sunny land so 
soon as these lands are put upon the market. 

The Florida Keys, comprising a long chain of low coral islands, 
extending from the southern extremity of Dade County, in a south- 
westerly curving direction, into the waters of the Gulf, and terminating 
with the Dry Tortugas, 70 miles west of the island of Key West, lie 
in the only really tropical region of the United States. Of these keys 
many are mere islets, covered with a dense growth of mangrove bushes ; 
others support a growth of palms and other tropical trees, and a num- 
ber of them offer large areas of tillable soil. Some years ago they 
were unlighted and uninhabited, and were the dread of shipmasters 
and the paradise of wreckers. Now they are dotted with light-houses, 
whose flashing beacons have saved many a good ship from destruction. 
The largest of these islands is Key Largo, on which the raising of pine- 
apples is proving a remunerative industry. 

The pineapple, cocoanut, banana, plaintain, date, orange, lime, lemon, 
citron, shaddock, grape fruit, are practicable crops, giving tremen- 
dous profits to the producers in the southern parts of the peninsula. 
More than five hundred thousand cocoanut-trees have been planted 
around Key West and along the keys, reefs and mainland of the extreme 
Southern Atlantic and Gulf shores of the State,and more than that num- 
ber of pineapples. Think of 10,000 pineapples to an acre ! — no fertiliz- 
ing necessary — no ploughing : only a few hoeings needed. If they are 



Florida Sccilondlly Cdnsider^d—Seuth Florida. 39 

sold at one cent apiece, \.\i£ result is one hundred dolrats 1 pVr acre. ^ But 
pineapples must not be put at one cent, nor yet at 5 cents; bjut,' jtB q5 
surely within bounds, let us ask' 7 cents apiece for thenv, and receiVe 
seven hundred dollars per acre on a ^:rbp that one man Can handle many 
acres of. 

An acre will support fifty cocoanut-trees, nM require no fertilizing,' 
no fencing, and no pruning. At from nine to twelve years of age these 
trees mature from 80 to 150 nuts to the tree ; suppose they only bear 4c' 
to the tree on an acre of 50 trees, and are sold at one cent apiece. But 
cocoanuts do not sell for one cent apiece anywhere', and when' they 
bring five cents apiece, and the yield 13 20,000 to ten acres/ the 
comfortable annual income of $1,000 can be literally picked up in the 
sand. 

No fear of ever glutting a market either ; for' whatever may beside 
other fruits, there are boys enough in the country to use up all the sur- 
plus of a cocoanut crop. 

Who are the people to grow these things, and wher€ will 
they come from ? It is hard to guess ; but there is in this country 
a class of people who ought to find in South Florida the one place 
fitted for them. It comprises the thousands of invalids and deli- 
cate people who cannot cope with the busy world and its host of great 
healthy men. How many people'in the United States who must die 
soon in the homes they now occupy, and who are prevented from.leav* 
ing \ lem because they cannot labor in the agricultural South, might 
find a new lease of life and fortune in South Florida ? 
^ There are many other tropical and semi-tropical fruits successfully 
grown in South Florida, such as the guava, mango, sapadillo, "alligator 
pear," pawpaw, SUg^r-apple, and many others ; but we know too little 
of them to discuss them. » -j 

Vegetable growing will, for the few who shall obtain exceptionally 
fertile locations in South Florida, convenient to quick transportation, 
be very profitable for a few varieties of garden stuff — especially 
tomatoes, which, when offered early, border rather on the luxurious than 
substantial side of the food supply. But until railroads are completed, 
the southern part of the peninsula can do very little in this line. 

We think truck-farming and tropical fruit-growing rather incom- 
patible industries, except in very exceptional cases, for live stock and 
plenty of them are essentials to a good truck-farm. And they must 
be such stock as can be profitably kept enclosed. For this pur- 
pose a much better grassed country is necessary than exists in such 
places as will produce tropical fruit. What may be developed in this 
industry, of raising early vegetables for shipment North, in South 
Florida, when that section becomes better supplied with shipping 
facilities, and the people become by experience more familiar with 
methods and economies in cultivation and fertilizing, we are unable 
to say ; but at present only occasional localities have been able to 
attempt it. Results of such experimenting as has been had in 
those places affording ready transportation have been fairly satis- 
factory — mainly owing to the fact that their earlincss has given them 



40 Florida Sectionally Considered — South Florida. 

an advantage in the markets. A poor man who comes to South Flor- 
ida expecting to put the bulk of his capital into an orange grove, and 
rely upon supporting himself growing vegetables until his trees mature, 
is likely to be sooner or later disappointed, and had better post himself 
thoroughly before he undertakes it. . 

In the northern part of Monroe County is the Big Cypress Swamp, 
which lies between the Everglades and the Gulf coast, and extends north- 
ward nearly to the Caloosahatchie River. This stream, which is the 
outlet to Lake Okeechobee, flows into Charlotte Harbor, one of the 
finest land-locked harbors on the entire Gulf coast. The river is navi- 
gable for its entire length of 75 miles, having a depth of about six feet, 
at low tide, for a distance of 30 miles up from the Gulf. It is two 
miles wide at its mouth, on the south bank of which is situated Punta 
Rassa, noted as a port for the shipment of immense numbers of cattle 
to Cuba, and as the terminus of the" cables of the International Ocean 
Telegraph Company, extending to Key West and Havana. About 
twenty miles up the river is Fort Meyers, a town of considerable im- 
portance. 

Charlotte Harbor extends a considerable distance northward into 
Manatee County, and the Myakka River, Peace Creek, and Trout- 
eating Creek flow into it, through the central part of the county, from 
the north and north-east. Fisheating Creek flows through the eastern 
portion of the county into Lake Okeechobee, which, with the Kissim- 
mee River, form its eastern boundaries. 

Manatee is a very large county, and, like Monroe and Dade, com- 
prises a considerable area of marsh and swamp lands ; but it also con- 
tains a number of large prairies, which support many cattle. Along 
the Gulf coast and the Manatee River, which empties into Tampa 
Bay, near the northwest corner of the county, are fine lands, which 
produce, besides great quantities of vegetables, some of the finest- 
flavored oranges grown in the State, rivaling in popularity those of 
the Indian River country. In the region near the mouth of Manatee 
River are several of the largest and most profitable orange groves in 
Florida, and the only coffee ever raised in the United States for 
actual use was produced in the same locality. 

The country along the Gulf coast from Key West to Punta Rassa, 
on the Caloosahatchie, is low and insular in character, being intersected 
by innumerable streams, and fringed with countless numbers of coral 
islands covered with a dense growth of mangrove. North of Charlotte 
Harbor the same protecting chain of islands extends ; but they are 
larger, and offer facilities for cultivation, while the mainland itself is 
higher, and supports a heavy growth of pine forest. Just north of 
Tampa Bay, which is the next large indentation above Charlotte 
Harbor, the coast line is marked by bluffs, along which flourishing 
settlements are springing into existence — Clearwater Harbor, Dunedin, 
Yellow Bluff, Tarpon Springs on the Anclote River, and Bayport being 
already well established. 

The coast of Hillsboro' and Hernando Counties is indented at 
short intervals with bays, which form the mouths of rivers of crystal 



Florida Sectionally Considered — South Florida. 41 

clearness. These rivers take their rise a few miles back in the country 
in magnificent springs, the purity of whose waters is unexcelled in 
the world. 

Tampa Bay lies wholly in Hillsboro' County, and is a beautiful 
sheet of water, about twenty-five miles in length, and from eight to 
twelve miles wide. At its northern extremity it is divided into two 
large arms, known as Old Tampa Bay and Hillsboro' Bay, and at the 
head of the latter is Tampa, one of the oldest settlements on the Gulf 
coast. The peninsula which separates Old Tampa and Tampa Bay 
from the Gulf is a heavily timbered section of country, in which orange 
groves are being rapidly set out. Here, too, are raised many of the 
very earliest vegetables that find their way to Northern markets. 

Tampa is a flourishing town, with a constantly increasing trade, and 
is a base of supplies for Hillsboro', Polk, and portions of Manatee and 
Hernando Counties. Large quantities of oranges, vegetables, and beef 
cattle are shipped from there — the two first-named up the coast to Cedar 
Keys, and thence North by rail, and the latter to Cuba by steamer. 
Three railroads are being rapidly pushed toward Tampa from the 
north and east, and within a few months this heretofore little known 
city will be as easily accessible as any place in the State. 

Adjoining Hillsboro' County on the east lies Polk County, one of the 
most progressive of the upper counties of South Florida. It contains 
much good farming land, has a generous soil, and is rapidly being 
settled by an excellent class of immigrants from the Northern and 
Western States. The orange, vegetable, and cattle products of Polk 
County are now exported from Tampa; but that place and intermediate 
points in Polk County will be connected by rail in a short time with 
the transportation lines on the St. John's River, over the narrow-gauge 
South Florida Railroad, which is being rapidly extended thence from 
Kissimmee City, its present terminus. The Florida Transit and Penin- 
sular Railroad, now terminating at Wildwood, will shortly be extended 
to Tampa and Charlotte Harbor, making direct and uninterrupted rail- 
way connection by standard gauge between this rich country and all 
parts of the United States. 

There is still vacant United States land in Polk County ; but immi- 
gration into this section is so rapid that a year or two more will see it 
all taken up. 

Hernando County lies north of Hillsboro', along the Gulf coast, and 
is one of the richest agricultural sections of South Florida. It possesses 
many of the characteristics of Middle Florida, having high hills and 
a clay subsoil. Its products are consequently more varied than those 
of the country lying south of it, large quantities of corn, oats, and other 
grains being grown in some portions of the county. Brooksville, the 
county-seat, is its largest town. Along its northern boundary flows the 
Withlacoochee River of the South, emptying into the Gulf, and navi- 
• gable for smail steamers for a hundred miles. A number of beautiful 
lakes are situated in the north-eastern portion of the county, Charla- 
Apopka being the largest. On the Homossassa River, one of the 
spring-fed crystal streams flowing with the Gulf in the northern part of 



42 Florida Sectionally Considered — South Florida. 

the county, is located what was before the war the finest sugar plan- 
tation in the South, that of Senator David Julee. The lands of this 
plantation are now in the market, and can be bought for about ten 
dollars per acre. At the head of Crystal River, ten miles north of 
Homossassa, is a settlement containing half a dozen stores and a saw- 
mill. 

East of Hernando County, between it and Orange, is Sumter County, 
centrally located, and possessing advantages superior to most other 
localities in South Florida. The navigable waters of the Ocklawaha 
River, including the numerous lakes of which it is the outlet, pene- 
trates almost to the centre of the county from the north. The Withla- 
coochee, which forms its western boundary, is navigable for more than 
half the length of that boundary. The Florida Southern Railroad, 
now building, will pass almost through the centre of the county from 
north-east to south-west. The St. John's and Lake Eustis Railroad, 
from Astor on the St. John's River to Fort Mason on the shore 
of Lake Eustis, which forms a portion of the eastern boundary 
of the county, connects it with the St. John's River. The Florida 
Transit and Peninsular Railroad is completed to Wildwood, almost 
in the centre of the county, and projected southward to Tampa and 
Charlotte Harbor ; its branch from Wildwood to Leesburg is nearly 
completed and projected eastward to the Indian Rivtr. These will 
give Sumter County the ample means of transportation to which the 
richness of its soil and its natural advantages of location and climate 
render it peculiarly entitled. « 

Besides Lake Panasoffkee, which lies in the western portion of the 
county, it contains one of the most beautiful lake regions in the State, 
comprising Lakes Griffin, Harris, Eustis, Apopka, and a large number of 
smaller lakes. Around all these lakes, thriving settlements, villages, 
and towns already exist, and others are constantly springing up. 

At present Sumter County is attracting as much attention from 
those in search of lands and homes in Florida as any other in the State. 
Its development has only begun, but its promises for the future will be 
fulfilled beyond the most sanguine expectations of those who have al- 
ready settled within its borders. In the vicinity of Lake Apopka, on its 
eastern boundary, 'is a range of sand hills attaining a very considerable 
elevation for Florida, which are locally known as the " Apopka 
Mountains." 

Orange County, which lies between Sumter and Volusia, with a 
portion extending southward between Polk and Brevard, and another 
northward between Marion and Volusia, is about eighty miles in length, 
north and south, and in its widest part about fifty miles in breadth. No 
region on the face of the earth has been so thoroughly, skillfully, and 
persistently advertised as Orange County ; and for some years it was 
a general impression among seekers after information concerning 
Florida that not an orange worth having was produced outside its limits, 
and that no other quarter of the State was utterly and 'entirely free 
from the effects of frost. Much of this misconception, due quite as 
largely to the enthusiasm of new comers as to the representations of 



Florida Sectionally Considered — South Florida. 43 

interested advertisers, has disappeared ; but the genuinely superior advan- 
tages of Orange County remain, and are thoroughly appreciated by its 
residents. The natural transportation facilities afforded by the St. John's 
River, before the construction of railroads, did much to bring Orange 
County into prominence; and the early inauguration of the industry of 
orange-culture, by enterprising immigrants and far-seeing winter resi- 
dents of ample means, placed it in the van of progress, so far as 
South Florida was concerned. These advantages, added to the excel- 
lence of the classes of immigrants constantly settling in and improving 
the country, have combined to maintain the progress which has 
marked its recent history. To the advantages of transportation 
afforded by the St. John's River, which skirts the entire eastern boun- 
dary of the county, are now added facilities for rapid transit by rail by 
the St. John's and Lake Eustis Railroad, which extends from Astor, on 
the St. John's River, one hundred and forty miles from Jacksonville, to 
Fort Mason, on Lake Eustis, a distance of twenty-five miles into the 
heart of the " lake region ;" the South Florida Railroad, from Sanford 
to Kissimmee City in the extreme lower portion of the county, which 
is now being extended westward from its present terminus to Tampa ; 
the Leesburg branch of the Florida Transit and Peninsular Railroad, 
now building, which will connect the central portion of the country 
directly by rail with all parts of the Union ; and the Sanford and Indian 
River Railroad, now building east from Sanford to the coast. 

Orange County contains several cities, among which Sanford and 
Orlando are already well-established centres of trade ; the former being 
the upper terminus of steamboat lines from Jacksonville and the start- 
ing-point of steamboats for the Upper St. John's and the Indian River 
country, and the latter the county-seat. Between the two, along the 
line of the South Florida Railroad, which here skirts a series of ex- 
quisite lakes, is springing up a series of charming winter resorts, filled 
with the cottage homes of wealthy Northerners, who here spend the 
months from November to May, in the midst of orange groves, flowers, 
and the other surroundings of the semi-tropics. Winter Park, Mait- 
land, Longwood, and half a dozen more, belong to this class of cottage 
cities. Kissimmee City, on the same line of railroad and forty miles 
from Sanford, is but two years old, but is growing rapidly, and is at the 
head of Kissimmee River navigation and the point of departure for 
Lake Okeechobee steamers and for Punta Rassa on the Gulf. 

Frost occurs semi-occasionally throughout Florida, and the much- 
talked of frost-line is a myth. It is a very common statement, made by 
interested parties, that some particular point in South Florida is "below 
the frost-line ;" but the Hon. A. H. Robinson, late Commissioner of 
Immigration for Florida, assured the writer that, during a residence of 
sixteen years south of the Manatee River, no winter had passed in 
which frost had not occurred on one or more occasions. 

So far from such a fact being an objection, it is probably one of the 
greatest blessings of the South Florida climate ; and for aught we 
know to the contrary, it maybe the one cause why yellow fever is never 
spontaneous there, as it is in Cuba and Mexico, for the summer heat 



44 Florida Sectionally Considered—South Florida. 

in either of those places is not greatly, if at all, higher than in South 
Florida ; but having no winter, so far as low temperature is concerned, 
they do have malignant fevers. 

By the middle of the year 1884 there is every reason now to expect 
there will be at least two first-class rail lines in operation down the 
peninsula, through the great Counties of Orange, Polk, and Hills- 
boro, to Tampa ; and at no very distant day there will be steam 
navigation down Matanzas Inlet, and through the Florida Coast Line 
and Canal Transportation Company's Canal, now rapidly constructing 
into Indian River, and thence to the southward, along that glorious 
inside water-way. 

People are pouring into the peninsular portion of the State in won- 
derful numbers, and the development of this section is equal to any- 
thing that has occurred in the history of Western civilization. Lands 
are rapidly enhancing in value, and maturing groves are commanding 
fabulous prices. 

How firm the foundation may be upon which this visible prosperity 
now rests, the future alone can disclose. Everything is so far second- 
ary to orange-planting that there is little else seen upon which to base 
calculations. 

So far the wealth that has developed the section has been carried 
there from elsewhere, and has not been the result of domestic pro- 
duction ; but no man familiar with the conditions there can doubt that 
thousands of souls are yet to find in South Florida the one place in 
North America where they can realize their ideal of a semi-tropical 
home, where a life of easy comfort can be enjoyed under laws and 
political institutions adapted to American genius. It is a land where 
meet the best-tempered edges of two zones, and where the most desir- 
able features of each blend harmoniously ; where the southern palm 
lazily waves an evergreen welcome to the sturdy northern oak ; where 
the golden fruit of the tropics ripens side by side with the ruddy repre- 
sentative of colder climes ; and where the breath of the South Sea trade 
winds comes laden with ozone from the boundless ocean, calling back 
the roses to pale cheeks that have blanched under the ruder touch of 
borean blasts. 



From the Governors Standpoint. 



THE following unofficial report of the present condition of the 
State of Florida is the summary of an interview with Governor 
Bloxham, recently published in the New Orleans Times- 
Democrat. 

After a number of questions, concerning himself and his adminis- 
tration, the Governor was asked : 

" What has been the effect of the Disston and other large land grants 
and purchases ?" 

" To answer that question it is necessary to enter briefly into the 
history of the Disston grant. When I entered office the State had a 
landed fund of over 12,000,000 acres, for the purpose of building rail- 
roads and canals. This land, known as the 'swamp and overflowed' 
land in the State, was granted by tho Federal Government in 1850 for 
the purpose of reclamation and drainage. There stood against these 
lands, however, a debt of over $1,000,000. The creditors invoked the 
power of the Supreme Court of the United States, and, becoming res- 
tive from long delay, determined to force a sale to secure themselves. 
The two administrations preceding mine had endeavored to sell a por- 
tion of the land to relieve the whole from debt, but only small portions 
were sold, scarcely sufficient to pay the interest. A forced sale for the 
benefit of the creditors would have been ruinous, and it is more than 
probable that the whole fund would have been sacrificed to pay the 
debt. The Constitution prohibited the State from paying the debt or 
issuing bonds for it. Under these circumstances the Board of Trus- 
tees were fortunate, on June 1st, 1881, in selling to Hamilton Disston, 
4,000,000 acres for $1,000,000. The effect of the sale was to release 
the Internal Improvement Fund from debt, which gave an impetus to 
railroad building never before known in the State. A large amount of 
capital has been invested here, naturally bringing with it an influx of 
population, and a large amount of property has been placed upon the 
tax books, thus aiding in the reduction of taxation." 

LAND VALUES. 

"What is the quality and value of improved and unimproved 
lands ?" 

" Improved lands are worth from $4 to $20 per acre, but there are 
lands which could not be bought for $1,000. The price, of course, de- 
pends to a great extent upon the location and latitude. The price of 
unimproved lands varies from $2 to $4 per acre, but there are in sections 

45 



46 From the Governor's Standpoint. 

lands so well adapted for orange culture that they are held as high as 
$300 per acre. The State owns over 10,000,000 acres of lands, divided 
into school and seminary lands, internal improvement lands and swamp 
lands. The first mentioned are open to entry at a minimum price of 
$1.25 per acre, but some are appraised as high as $7. Internal im- 
provement lands generally bring $2 per acre. Some sell for less, and 
others as high as $6.50 per acre. Swamp lands, of which the State 
owns about 9,000,000 acres, are graded in price according to the num- 
ber of acres sold. For 40 acres the price is $1 per acre ; more than 40, 
and not exceeding 80 acres, 90 cents ; above 80 and under 200 acres, 
'8o cents ; above 200 acres and not exceeding a square mile, 75 cents ; 
above a square mile, 70 cents per acre. Besides State land there are 
about 12,000,000 acres belonging to the General Government, which are 
held at $1.25 per acre. Some of the public land is very good, but 
other portions are valueless, except for timber. Some of the lands 
granted to the railroads are also in the market, as are those of the Diss- 
ton and other large landed companies. Beside there are large tracts 
held by non-residents, known as the Spanish grants, which can be 
purchased very cheap." 

THE EVERGLADES. 

" For the improvement of the Everglades the last Legislature char- 
tered the Atlantic and Gulf Coast and Okeechobee Land Company. 
Surveys have been made by the company, as well as by the United 
States, under the direction of General Gilmore. These surveys show 
that Lake Okeechobee has an elevation of twenty-two feet above the 
Gulf, and the Lake Tohopekaliga, at the headwaters of the Kissimmee 
River, has an elevation of sixty-five feet above the Gulf. Having as- 
certained these facts, the company assumed the entire practicability of 
reclaiming many millions of acres. The influence of this enterprise 
upon the future of the State can scarcely be exaggerated. The recla- 
mation of many millions of acres, containing some of the most valuable 
sugar lands in the United States, with suitable climatic conditions for 
the successful growth of all tropical fruits, is the harbinger of an era 
of population, wealth, and prosperity unthoughtof in our past history." 

TIMBER. 

" What is the extent of the timber lands in the State ?" 
" Almost all of the public lands and a great portion of the private 
are covered with timber. The lands perhaps exceed 30,000,000 acres, 
three-quarters of which is covered with yellow pine, which is the chief 
timber marketed. The State contains an immense amount of pine 
timber, estimated to reach 7,000,000,000 feet. The last census esti- 
mated that for the year ended May 31, 1881, 208,054,000 feet were cut. 
But the amount marketed annually becomes greater. The long-leafed 
pine is situated in the northern part of the State. South of 27 degrees 
north the forests have little commercial value. The greater part of the 



From the Governor s Standpoint. 47 

timber lands are contiguous to railways or navigable streams, and the 
rapid building to railroads is increasing the facilities for marketing the 
product every year. The demand for the timber increases each year, 
and a large amount of capital is being invested in it. The land varies 
in price from $1 to $2 per acre, and is usually purchased in tracts of 
15,000 to 20,000 acres, but small tracts are also largely bought." 

RAILROADS. 

" In what way does the State encourage the building of rail- 
roads ?" 

" Railroad construction is encouraged by grants from the Internal 
Improvement Fund, mentioned previously. In some cases lands have 
been granted to the extent of 20,000 acres for each mile of road built. 
Such a grant was made to the Pensacola and Atlantic road ; other 
roads have received 3,800 acres per mile in alternate sections." 

" What lines are now under construction ?" 

" Since I have been in office, two and a half years, the Fernandina 
and Jacksonville and the East Florida, from Waycross to Jacksonville, 
have been completed. 

" There has been commenced and completed since that time the 
Pensacola and Atlantic, 161 miles in length, from Pensacola to Chatta- 
hoochee, on the Apalachicola River, connecting with the Jacksonville, 
Pensacola and Mobile. 

"The Florida Southern has built about 100 miles of its line, and 
construction is being pushed rapidly. This line was projected to run 
from Lake City to Charlotte Harbor, via Gainesville and Tampa, with 
a branch from Gainesville to Palatka. 

" The South Florida has been pushed from Orlando to Kissimmee, 
and by January 1, 1884, will be completed to Tampa. 

" The Jacksonville, St. Augustine and Halifax has been construct- 
ed from Jacksonville to St. Augustine. 

"The Jacksonville, Tampa and Key West road is graded from 
Jacksonville to Palatka, and will, in two months, be properly equipped 
and have trains passing over it. 

" The Rowland's Bluff Railroad, having been built from Live 
Oak to New Branford, on the Suwanee, is being pushed rapidly south, 
via Newnansville. 

" The St. John's and Halifax lias 10 or 12 miles of the track ironed, 
and the work of construction to the Atlantic seaboard will be pushed 
forward. 

" A railroad has been built from Sanford, on Lake Monroe to Lake 
Jessup, in Orange County, as a branch of the South Florida. 

" The St. John's and Lake Eustis road, commencing at Astor, on 
the St. John's River, has been constructed to Fort Mason and through 
Eustis to Tavares. 

" There is also being built a road from Tavares to Orlando, where 
it is to connect with the South Florida road. After reaching Orlando 
it will probably be continued to an Atlantic port. 



48 From the Governor's Standpoint. 

" A branch of the Florida Transit is being graded and tied as far 
as Leesburg, Sumter County, and is expected to be pushed to Tavares. 

" The Green Cove and Melrose road has six or seven miles ironed, 
the entire line located, and, I hope, will soon be pushed to completion. 

" The Jacksonville and Atlantic, from Jacksonville to the ocean, 
near the mouth of the St. John's River, has been located, and the entire 
capital stock subscribed. 

" The International Railroad and Steamship Company are building 
from Tampa to connect with the Transit system at or near Sumter- 
ville, and has a considerable portion of the line already graded. From 
Sumterville it will probably strike in a northeasterly line through the 
State, as they have already done considerable grading between Palatka 
and Jacksonville. 

" The Thomasville, Tallahassee and Gulf road has been located 
and work commenced. This road, when completed, will give Talla- 
hassee, Thomasville, and the surrounding country another connection 
to deep water on the Gulf. 

" The Palatka and Indian River road has had a considerable amount 
of the line graded, as has also the Seville and Halifax. 

" In mentioning the roads built and in course of construction, I 
have omitted those completed before I came into office. Florida has 
built more roads in the last two years than she has ever done before in 
her entire history. One of the chief reasons for this great progress in 
railroad building was, as I mentioned before, the practical relief of the 
Internal Improvement Fund by the Disston Sale. 

" We cannot have too many railroads, for the fruit-growing portion of 
Florida will need a large amount of transportation. Take, for instance, 
oranges. It is estimated on good authority that an acre in full bearing 
will produce 200,000 oranges, which, boxed, will weigh 100,000 pounds, 
or three car-loads of 33,000 pounds each. Cotton will not average in 
the United States over a bale to three acres, and a single car will carry 
off 50 bales compressed, or the production of 150 acres. So one acre 
of full-bearing oranges will require three times the cars to transport 
them that 150 acres of cotton will. Astonishing as it may seem, the 
conclusion seems inevitable that 120,000 acres in oranges in good bear- 
ing will require more cars to move them than 6,000,000 bales of cot- 
ton, the production of 18,000,000 acres. The roads are assisting im- 
migration by advertising their lands in the State and giving cheap 
rates of transportation. 

" The State limits the charges for passengers to 5 cents per mile — 
the usual rate charged is about 3 cents. The charges on freights are 
limited by law. There are no State Commissioners to supervise the 
railroads." 

AGRICULTURE. 

" What progress is being made by the farmers of the State ?" 
" The agriculturists of Florida are rapidly turning their attention to 
the cultivation of fruits and early vegetables. This naturally leads to 
small farms and an improved system of cultivation. Truck farming 



. From the Governor's Standpoint. 49 

is becoming more general each year, and adds greatly to the resources 
of the State. Truck farmers, in most cases, own the land they culti- 
vate. 

" As early as February 1, we send forward to the Northern markets, 
tomatoes, green peas, cucumbers, and other vegetables, which bring, at 
this early season of the year, remunerative prices, and find a ready 
sale. This industry will continue to grow, and as soon as greater 
facilities for transportation are offered, its present proportions will be 
very much greater." 

" The culture of strawberries and other small fruits is rapidly in- 
creasing, and proves profitable. The cultivation of fruits and vege- 
tables is done almost exclusively on a cash basis, and the farmers of 
the State are generally free of debt — some exceptions to this being 
found among the cultivators of cotton. 

" The cultivation of oranges, lemons, and other tropical fruits con- 
tinues to increase annually, and this industry will soon become one 
of the most important in the State. The value of the orange business 
alone, in 1880, amounted to $1,000,000, with an employed capital of 
more than $10,000,000, and the industry has steadily increased since. 

"About seventy-five trees are planted to the acre, the average 
yield exceeding five hundred oranges to the tree. The trees reach their 
prime in twenty years, but will continue to be productive, it is estimated, 
seventy-five or eighty years longer. 

" Orange groves in full bearing bring almost fabulous prices, and it 
is not unusual for an orchard to net its owner $1,000 per acre. The 
price per thousand fluctuates ; but for good fruit, in a fair season, about 
$15 per thousand is paid for oranges on the trees. 

"The orange-tree will begin to bear fruit in from three to six 
years, according to the mode of planting. Budded trees bear earlier 
than seedlings. There are a great many varieties, and the tree is less 
liable to disease than any other fruit tree. Few insects are trouble- 
some, and the remedies for the destruction of those insects are simple 
and effective. The orange-tree can be grown in any part of Florida, 
proper attention being paid to cultivation and protection from frost. 
Orange groves require very careful and intelligent cultivation. Garden 
crops can be raised in a grove without injury to the young trees. 

" When it is considered that only 6 per cent, of the number of 
oranges consumed in this country are raised in Florida, and that the 
consumption increases in a ratio very nearly equal to the increased 
production, it will be seen that many years must elapse before there will 
be any danger of over-production, and, as a consequence, the business 
offers greater inducements now than ever before." 

. 

CANALS. 

"Do you regard the project of constructing a deep-water ship canal 
across the peninsula perfectly feasible ?" 

" As to its feasibility I can only rely upon the report of General 
Stone, made to the management of the project. It is a great and 



$o From the Governor s Standpoint. 

grand enterprise, and one that Will bring an immense amount of capi-' 
tal into the State, and should receive our hearty encouragement." 

" To what extent will the construction of the Florida Coast Line 
Canal assist in developing South Florida?" 

" I think the canal will certainly be built, and it will aid largely 
in the development of South Florida. The feasibility of inland water 
communication from the mouth of St. John's River to Biscayne Bay, 
in the extreme southern part of the State, a distance of about 270 
miles, by utilizing the waters of Pablo Creek, and North, Matanzas, 
Halifax, and Indian Rivers, has long been conceded. Operations 
were commenced in November last. The importance of the canal 
cannot be overrated. The trustees of the Internal Improvement 
Fund recognized this, and withdrew the lands along the route for 
the benefit of the enterprise. If work is pushed forward as rapidly 
as heretofore it will not be long before that entire tropical section of 
the State will be supplied with transportation, and the splendid lands 
along the watercourses be rendered productive by a large population." 

" How about the coast canal, connecting the Mississippi River with 
Florida ?" 

" The scheme of building a barge or ship canal along the route 
indicated, and making Jacksonville or Fernandina practically the 
mouth of the Mississippi River, is regarded by many as Quixotic; but a 
glance at the map proves it otherwise. From New Orleans across 
Lake Borgne, through Mississippi Sound and Mobile, Perdido, Pensa- 
cola, Choctawhatchee, St. Andrew's and Apalachicola Bays, there is 
almost continuous inland communication to the peninsula. Then, by 
using some of the Florida rivers, a canal could be constructed to an 
Atlantic seaport, and grain from the Mississippi could be brought 
without breaking bulk to the Atlantic coast." 

" How is the Plant Investment Company assisting to develop the 
State ?" 

" The company has shown a great deal of energy and has spent 
and is spending a great deal of capital in the State. It is this com- 
pany that is pushing the railroad from Live Oak via New Branford to 
South Florida, and it is also building the road from Kissimmee City to 
Tampa, to connect with the South Florida, having purchased a con- 
trolling interest in the South Florida. It is also building the East 
Florida road, from Waycross to Jacksonville, and has steamers plying 
the St. John's River." 

MANUFACTURES. 

"What does Florida's manufacturing interest consist of?" 
" The lumber manufacturing business is our largest, but we also 
have large manufactories of cigars, ice, and cassava. There are a few 
cotton factories and several cotton-seed oil-mills, also some fibre fac- 
tories to utilize the palmetto plant. I consider the prospects of the 
South in regard to manufacturing very bright. It is generally con- 
ceded, I believe, that it is cheaper to carry the spindle to the fibre 



From the Governor s Standpoint. 51 

than the fibre to the spindle. The success of the factories already 
established will encourage the investment of more capital. It is the 
same with other products. It is cheaper to manufacture them where 
they are raised, and it must eventually be done." 



COLORED POPULATION. 

" Has the negro made any social, educational, and financial progress 
of late years ?" 

" I think he has. In this (Leon) county they own some 10,000 
acres of land, and their property in Tallahassee, which has a total pop- 
ulation of about 3,000, must be worth $50,000. They own in the 
county 825 head of horses and mules, have over 2,000 head of cattle 
and sheep, nearly 2,500 head of hogs, and their other personal prop- 
erty is valued at over $12,000. There are other counties in which 
their condition is even better. They show no disposition to emigrate 
from the State. They appear to be anxious to have their children 
educated." 



FINANCIAL. 

" What is the financial condition of the State ?" 

"Very good. The Comptroller's warrants pass current in the 
banks of New York, Savannah, Jacksonville, and Pensacola, where the 
State has most of its financial transactions. The bonded debt of the 
State consists of $450,000 worth of 7 per cent, bonds of 187 1, $925,000 
worth of 6 per cent, bonds of 1873, and $1,500 worth of 8 per cent, 
convention bonds, never offered for redemption, making a total 
bonded indebtedness of $1,276,500. But against this there is held by 
the Seminary Fund, Agricultural College Fund, and Sinking Bond Funds 
,$696,500 of the State's bonds, leaving in the hands of individuals only 
$580,000, which represents the real debt of the State. The 7 per 
cent, bonds of the State are worth 130, and cannot be bought. Inter- 
est on the bonds is promptly met here and in New York. The State 
has no floating debt." 

"What is the total assessment of the State, and what is the rate of 
taxation ?" 

" The assessment books for the present year # have not been re- 
turned. Last year the assessment was about $46,000,000, and I have 
no doubt the present year will show an increase of five or ten millions 
over last. In 1880 the assessment was only $30,000,000. Property is 
assessed at a very low rate, the actual values in the State probably rep- 
resenting $100,000,000. In regard to the rate of taxation for the support 
of the government, payment of the interest on the debt, and for the 
maintenance of asylums, we levy a tax of four mills. We also levy an 
additional tax of one mill for educational purposes. Last year the 
revenue from licenses amounted to $105,000. What it will be this year I 
cannot tell ; but, owing to a change of the law regarding liquor 



52 From the Governor's Standpoint. 

licenses, the revenue from this source will certainly be decreased. 
Taxes are paid promptly." 

The Governor thought the condition of the public schools highly 
encouraging. There were in operation in the State during last year 
1,326 schools, with a total attendance of 51,945 pupils, an increase over 
former years. About $200,000 is annually expended for schools in 
Florida. Seventy-three per cent, of the total school population attend 
school. During the past year $1,800 have been received from the 
Peabody Fund. Federal aid to education, under State control, is 
favored by the people. 



Resources of Florida. > 53 



Resources of Florida. 



STAPLE COMMODITIES. 

THE staple commodities of Florida for markets outside the State 
are enlarging in number. The kmg and short staple cotton, 
corn, rye, oats, rice, sugar, syrup, tobacco, vegetables of almost 
every variety, and fruits, tropical and semi-tropical, as well as 
most of those grown in temperate zones, fish, sponge, lumber, turpen- 
tine, resin, etc., are the most prominent. The cereals grown in the 
United States generally do well also in Florida, with the exception, 
perhaps, of wheat, which is supposed to be more subject to rust in 
Florida than further north. For the want of proper mills for converting 
the grain into flour, but few experiments have been made in wheat. 

In the census of 1880 the average of the corn crop of the State of 
Georgia per acre is put down at 9.2 bushels, South Carolina at 9.3 
bushels, and Florida at 9.4 bushels. Florida, therefore, is not entirely 
in the rear. The average per acre of the oat crop in Alabama is put 
down at 9.2 bushels, and Florida at 9.4 bushels. 

A larger area in Florida is suited to the growth of Sea Island cotton 
than in any other one of the States. Indeed about half the whole 
American supply is raised in this State. 

At the Atlanta Exposition, in 1882, a bag of long-staple cotton, from 
Levy County, Florida, took the first premium. 

As this staple brings double and sometimes treble the price of the 
short staple, the localities best suited to its growth will be turned to its 
production. 

The small grain cereals generally have been found to do well in 
Florida as far as they have been tried. Rice does finely, even on the 
poor pine lands when sufficiently fertilized. After cow-penning the 
ground, 60 bushels per acre have been produced. The reclaimed 
swamp lands will be eminently fitted for its production. While this 
grain feeds a majority of the world's people, the straw is excellent 
forage for horses and cattle. But the sugar-cane will, perhaps, be the 
larger crops on the richer lands, whether swamp, low hammock or 
high. The world's demand for the product of the cane is enlarging, 
the price is enhancing, and no substitute has yet been found that will 
adequately supply its place. Another incentive to its production is 
the improved machinery brought into use in the last few years for con- 
verting its juice into sugar and syrup, and purifying its granulations up 
to the highest grades. 



i?4 Resources of Florida. 

Jute is now being experimented with in this climate, and with every 
prospect of success. This is the proper soil and climate for it. Its 
growth, will diversify Florida crops, and the manufacture of its fibre 
will diversify labor, and diversity of labor is one of the great wants 
of the South. There will be a home demand for the manufactured 
article. This will save expense of freightage from abroad and import 
duties upon arrival. 

Another plant producing textile fibre is the Sisal hemp. This 
piant was introduced into Florida while yet a Territory, from Yucatan, 
by one Dr. Perrine, who engaged with the United States Government 
to introduce and grow tropical plants, in consideration of a township 
of land south of the 26th degree of north latitude. His enterprise, -for 
some cause, failed, and the grant failed with it; but some of the plants 
he introduced found in tke locality a genial home, and still live without 
attention and tillage. 

TROPICAL AND SEMI-TROPICAL FRUITS. 

The pineapple is largely an air plant, and in a suitable climate will 
do well, even in a poor soil. Very fine pineapples have been grown as 
far north as Tampa, about 28 degrees north latitude, and will do well 
up to 29 degrees. On the islands between Key West and the mainland 
and along the Indian River it is a staple crop. Indeed it may be 
grown profitably anywhere south of 29 degrees north. 

The cocoanut just at present is attracting great attention in the 
counties of Monroe and Dade. There are trees in prosperous and 
prolific bearing at Fort Myers, near the northern boundary of Monroe 
County. With a little protection to the plant for the first several years 
during the coldest nights it will do well as far north as the Manatee 
River. 

The date-palm, from which is obtained the date of commerce, is a 
somewhat hardier plant than the cocoanut, and will do well further 
north ; date-trees, and very old ones, are bearing at St. Augustine, 
and in Franklin County, at Apalachicola. As yet this fruit has not at- 
tracted much attention as an investment, as about twenty years are 
generally required to obtain fruit from the seed. 

The guava, a tree in its size and shape and manner of growth not 
unlike the peach-tree, does about as well in the southern counties of 
Florida as it can anywhere. From its fruit is made the guava jelly of 
commerce, so widely and so favorably known over the world. The 
taste for the fruit, like the taste for most tropical fruits, is an acquired 
one, but when acquired is fully endorsed. Some persons like the fruit 
upon first tasting it, but the majority require frequent tasting before 
the flavor becomes decidedly agreeable. The full crop ripens in 
August and September, but the trees have blossoms and fruit all the 
year, and all the year the fruit is ripening. They grow with less atten- 
tion than the peach, and sometimes bear the second year from the seed. 
The fruit is ordinarily about the size of the peach, and fully as varied 
in size and quality. So far experience has demonstrated no other 



Resources of Florida. 55 

means of utilizing this fruit for market than by canning, or as jelly 
and marmalade. 

The " sugar-apple " is placed by the Spaniards at or near the head 
of the fruit list for its excellence. In its flavor it is one of the most 
concentrated sweets known among fruits; but the first taste has a smack 
of something repulsive, soon lost in a few repetitions, and then the 
acquired taste is very agreeable. It grows upon a shrub but little, if 
any, larger than the pomegranate, and in size and shape is somewhat 
like the pine cone. It decays too soon after ripening for transporta- 
tion, and as yet has established a use only at home. It thrives as far 
north as Tampa. 

The pomegranate, several varieties of sweet and sour, grows finely 
in every part of the State. It is not a marketable product, but when 
properly prepared makes a most delightful sub-acid summer drink — is 
a decided febrifuge' much in vogue. The tree with its rich foliage 
and brilliant coral-like flowers is highly ornamental. 

The coffee-plant has attained maturity in the open air in but one 
county in the State, or even the United States. It sometimes attains 
a height of ten or twelve feet. Mrs. Atzeroth, of Manatee County, has 
sent several pounds of the matured grain to Washington City, and re- 
ceived a premium for the same. She is engaged mainly, however, in 
raising the plants for sale. Whether it can be grown profitably on a 
large scale, and will figure among the available crops of Florida, is yet 
to be tested. 

The mango is another tropical fruit of high flavor, and is now 
bearing abundantly as far north as the 28th degree of north latitude. 
In size and shape it somewhat resembles a pear, and in flavor has been 
likened to the apricot. This is a marketable fruit — finds ready sale in 
Texas and Louisiana markets. 

The sappadillo (after a little familiarity with it) is a very luscious 
and desirable fruit. The tree attains about the dimensions of the 
orange, but will not stand the cold quite so well. A few trees are 
growing as far north as the Manatee River. They are not yet in bear- 
ing, but, as they grow finely, promise well. 

The alligator pear, or Laurus Pcrsea {Linncsus), is a tree somewhat 
larger than the orange, resembling in the general appearance of its 
foliage and growth the magnolia. The fruit, when matured, is about 
the shape and color (the only similarities) of the pear, is palatable, 
flavor peculiar to itself. Preferred by many to any other tropical fruit. 
Is marketable; bears transportation quite as well as the orange. Attains 
perfection as far north as 29 degrees north latitude. As yet has 
attracted little attention. 

The orange can be more extensively and profitably grown in Florida 
than in any other State of the Union. Louisiana, Texas, and California 
will in time compete with us in the production of this popular fruit ; 
but from advantages we enjoy in certain peculiarities of climate, soil, 
and seasons, it is more than likely that Florida will ever retain a superi- 
ority over any other section of the country in its production. 

The history of orange-growing in Florida as an industry is very 



56 Resources of Florida. 

recent, though the primeval forests abound, in some localities, in native 
wild groves. With the first settlement of St. Augustine by the Span- 
iards it is probable that the orange was planted and cultivated with 
success. During the period of American occupation, from the cession 
in 1 81 9-2 1 up to the close of the civil war in 1865, many Floridians 
had planted and matured extensive groves, prominent among which 
was the renowned Dummit Grove on Indian River, together with others 
of less size at St. Augustine and at several points along the St. John's 
River and at Tampa Bay. Still these ante-bellum groves were merely 
among the embellishments of home surroundings with a few wealthy 
proprietors, as fish-ponds or other ornamental features sometimes are 
upon the premises of Northern men of wealth ; but nowhere in Flor- 
ida was orange-growing regarded as a business to be pursued solely for 
profit. 

After tne .ate war the winter climate of Florida was sought by hun- 
dreds of Northern people in pursuit of health. The beauty of the rich 
golden fruit, amid its dark, green foliage, attracted the eye, and, as 
many of these visitors bought and improved homes along the banks of 
the St. John's and other accessible points, they began the propagation 
of the orange. Gradually the facilities for its culture and the wonder- 
ful profitableness of the business became apparent, and mduced invest- 
ments in small tracts for the purpose. Year after year, as at various 
points additional trees and young plantings came into bearing, the 
great superiority of the Florida fruit over any other made itself felt in 
the North. The demand for " Florida oranges " began to grow, prices 
advanced, improved methods of propagating by budding, pruning, and 
fertilizing obtained ; year by year the demand and supply continued to 
increase. Soon choice locations adapted to the culture of the fruit 
began enhancing in value — lots that for fifty years had remained 
vacant at $1.25 per acre, were found to command and readily bring $50 
to $100 per acre. And so the enormous profitableness of this industry 
became noised abroad, and the " Orange fever " was fairly established, 
and not without good' cause ; for, however extravagantly the subject 
has in many instances been treated by some writers, not always with- 
out selfish purposes in inducing sale and settlement of lands, there is 
no shadow of doubt as to the really sure and safe ground for the invest- 
ment of untold thousands of dollars in making orange groves. One 
grove alone, the Harris, will yield its proprietor $63,000 net profit this 
year. 

One thousand dollars per acre per annum has time and again been 
realized from this business. Indeed, double that amount per acre has 
been frequently made ; and with proper culture and fertilization, 
where the latter is needed, $1,000 per acre is an available crop. Like 
all excellent things, orange culture has many and serious obstacles to 
its successful accomplishment. Being a new business, there is not a 
vast amount of experience to govern and direct the beginner. Almost 
as many different theories exist as to the most approved methods of 
culture as there are men engaged in it. 

The natural enemies of the tree and fruit are numerous, and not 



Resources of Florida. 57 

very well understood. An entomologist, recently sent from the &areaa 
at Washington, reports having discovered no less than thirty-five differ- 
ent insects that are in a greater or less degree damaging to the orange. 
Judicious selection of locality, as well as location for groves, are most 
important matters. The selection of stocks, buds, seeds, and the best 
methods of planting, protecting, and cultivating, are all material factors 
of success. Frosts, droughts, gales, and other casualties are to be 
considered, and time is largely of the essence of the undertaking. We 
believe, from experience thus far, that on an average it requires twelve 
or fifteen years to make an orange grove very profitable from the time 
of planting. True it is that in some, perhaps many, instances, where 
the environments were in all respects most favorable, much better re- 
sults have been obtained. 

The writer has had numerous inquiries made of him from all parts 
of the country as to the advisability of poor men going to Florida 
for the purpose of engaging in orange culture. He is frequently asked : 
" How much capital is required to enable a man to engage in growing 
oranges ?" " Can a man with very moderate means put out an orange 
grove and make a support off the land while the trees are growing ?" etc. 
These, like many others of analogous character, are very pertinent in- 
quiries, but quite beyond most persons' capacity to answer. The 
amount of capital required depends, of course, on the extent to which 
the enterprise is pursued. The cost of land, trees, labor, and support 
are all involved, and these vary as to localities, and what might be 
thought a support by different people. 

It has been customary heretofore by writers on this subject to sub- 
mit estimates of the cost of these several items, appended to which 
frequently occurs such an entry as " Value of five acres in bearing trees, 

at 7 years old, $ ," etc. We will attempt no such table. We have 

been quite unable to reconcile the great discrepancies of experimenters 
in their estimates of bringing a grove into bearing ; too much so, at any 
rate, to be able to digest therefrom reliable data for the guidance of 
others. 

We believe, however, that orange-growing, while it of course can 
be engaged in at a decided advantage by those who have means to con- 
duct it on a cash basis, and be independent of support until such time 
as the grove is an assured success, does not, nevertheless, present any 
insurmountable features to " poor men," — by which term we mean, in 
this instance, men without ready money and dependent upon their 
own labor for a support. Indeed, in the knowledge of the writer, 
many of the most successful and to-day independent orange propri- 
etors in Florida began the business with no other capital than their own 
labor. 

But for fear of misleading minds prone to overlook the details when 
so dazzling a prospect is offered them of converting in a few years 
acres of $1.25 land into bonanzas yielding princely incomes, we caution 
them that there is a long, hungry gap between raw pine woods and 
groves of bearing orange-trees. It takes hard work, plenty of pluck, 
assured health, good luck, and favorable auspices. To all of which a 



58 Resources of Florida. 

large family, bad health, indolence, inexperience, or accidents are 
possible drawbacks. 

It has been urged that the profits of orange-growing would directly 
attract so many to the business as to overstock the market and break 
it down ; but a little reflection will dissipate such fears. Apples sell 
as readily now, and at as good prices, as they did forty years ago, and 
yet there are millions of acres suitable to growing apples where there 
are hundreds suitable for growing oranges, and there are millions of 
apples now on the market where there used to be one. If the apple 
market cannot be so overstocked as to break it down, much less can 
the market for oranges. The consumption of the orange within the 
United States is put down at 600,000,000 per annum. A little above 
50,000,000 of that supply is furnished at home; the remainder, az 
shown at the custom-houses, is made up of receipts from abroad. 
Florida furnishes about one-twelfth of the supply, while foreign 
sources furnish the other eleven-twelfths. Florida fruit is of a better 
quality and richer flavor, and the foreign article finds a market among 
us only because the home supply fails to meet the demand. And 
this demand is increasing almost as rapidly as orange-trees in Florida 
are multiplying. 

Other members of the citrus family, viz., the lemon, lime, citron, 
grape, fruit, and shaddock, can be successfully grown in at least a large 
portion of the State. The lime and lemon will be about as widely 
used as the orange, though not so abundantly, and as not a tithing of 
so many are engaged in growing them, they will, perhaps, be about as 
profitable. 

The grape-fruit is only a larger and coarser variety of the orange. 
The shaddock is a yet larger fruit — measuring some ten or twelve 
inches in diameter. 

The citron is a healthy, vigorous grower and prolific bearer, though 
less hardy than the lemon or the orange. By a process, as yet not un- 
derstood in Florida, from this fruit is prepared, in the East, the citron 
of commerce ; which art, when acquired here, will develop only another 
source of industry and revenue to the State. 

The banana is one of the most popular of tropical productions. It 
is generally relished from the first ; but even this fruit requires a little 
practice to develop in full a palatable sense of its richness and deli- 
cacy. Moreover, it belongs to the family — the plaintain — which is 
claimed to be the richest of all the fruits in nutritious matter. It has a 
number of varieties. The hardiest of these, and the one most widely 
scattered over the State, is the African. This variety needs to be quite 
ripe to be in its highest degree palatable. Most of the other varieties, 
as the French, Fig, Dwarf, Red, Cavendish Lady-finger, and Apple, are 
regarded as more delicate in their flavor. 

Parties growing for the market are selecting some one or other of 
these finer varieties, even though of more delicate vitality. This plant 
sprouts or tillers from a single root or bulb, each sprout in its turn be- 
coming the parent of another generation of sprouts, which attain their 
maturity in about fourteen months, when the pendant fruit is developed 



Resources of Florida. 59 

at the top, after the ripening of which the sprout dies and makes room 
for a younger one. One season, therefore, is not sufficient for the 
wants of the plant. The first white frost disposes of its leaves, and a 
freeze of the stem also. 

With a little painstaking the fruit can be ripened all over Florida, 
and even further north. Let the plant, when it comes up in the spring, 
have tillage and fertilization (it requires a rich soil), and at the com- 
mencement of cold weather take up and shelter from cold by embank- 
ing in earth, as in case of sugar-cane. The leaves will perish, but the 
stem will be preserved with more certainty than the eye of the sugar- 
cane. In the following spring, if these stems are reset and cultivated, 
ripened fruit dilring the summer will be assured. This precaution, 
however, is only necessary during some winters in the extreme northern 
counties of the State; It is very tenacious of life, and. bears taking up 
and resetting almost like an onion. The plant belongs to the order; 
of Musas, and is closely allied to the M. Textillis or Manilla hemp of 
the Philippine Isles. It furnishes a fibre of extreme tenacity and dura- 1 
bility, and may in time come to be extensively utilized as a fibre-pro-; 
ducing plant. Another property of probable value possessed by this 
plant is its juice, which is very abundant in stem and leaf, trickling in 
quite a stream when fresh cut ; and makes an indelible dye, which can 
be varied in color by the addition of other matter, and this dye 
improves with age. The fruit is worth far more than its cost for both 
food and ornamentation, and no Florida home is complete without its; 
surrounding of the rich semi-tropical foliage of the banana. 

The Japan plum, or loquat, as well as the Japanese persimmon, 1 
flourishes throughout the State ; both are excellent fruit, with growing 
popularity, and promise to be profitable products for markets beyond 
the State. The persimmon is as large as an apple, and in some of its 
varieties of much the same shape. Some specimens of the fruit are 
seedless. The flavor is rich and pleasant. 

The peach, though it grows about as well in the far south of the 
State as farther north, yet does not fruit as regularly. Sometimes,' 
for several years together, the tree will cast every bloom. In the 
northern counties, while the orange-tree grows well, and even better 
than in the thinner lands of the southern counties, and for the last half 
a century have grown full crops for more than three-fourths of the 
years, yet are liable occasionally to be killed down by a severe freeze ;i 
but the peach, in at least its earlier varieties, offers a high remunera- 
tion for its tillage. In North Florida it can be ready for the earliest 
market and command monopolizing prices. The pien-to, or flat peach 
of China, begins to ripen in the neighborhood of Tallahassee, in Leon, 
County, in the last week in April, and continues for a month. These 
peaches brought extravagant prices in New York last spring. 

Pears of very many varieties, but especially the Dwarfs, have been| 
for many years favorite incumbents of the orchards in the northern 
and middle portions of the State, and are found to succeed well. 

Grapes of several varieties grow wild throughout Florida. They 
rarely if ever occur in the pine woods ; but, in hammock land, trees are 



60 Resources of Florida. 

hung and festooned in every direction with the luxuriant growth of 
vines. 

In many localities considerable attention has been given to the 
cultivation of domesticated varieties. The Concord, Catawba, Ives, 
Clinton, and other American grapes of that family have been found to 
grow and fruit well wherever the proper attention has been given the 
pruning, etc. As to the cultivation of grapes of that character on a 
large scale for making wine, we know of no very extensive operations, 
and it is questionable whether the rainy season, which occurs during 
vintage in July, will not prove a serious drawback, until experience 
and selection have induced a variation in the grape that will induce 
earlier ripening. The Delaware is a determined success in Middle 
Florida. 

The scuppernong has been more extensively propagated than any 
other grape. 

Of the production of any varieties of European wine grapes we are 
unable to give any reliable information. Many experiments have been 
made, and none, we think, have so far been very favorable. 

Apples, so far as we know, have never been extensively nor satis- 
factorily grown in Florida. There are in some of the northern coun- 
ties small orchards of considerable age that have borne fruit abundantly 
for years, but are not of choice varieties. 

Figs of every known variety do well in Florida, but in the most 
; southern counties are a little uncertain about fruiting. When it does 
Ibear in those sections, the fruit is quite as good as that grown farther 
I north, and it may be that painstaking in its tillage will discover a reme- 
| dy for this irregularity. In the East it is an article of great commercial 
i value, and when Florida has acquired skill in preparing her fruits for 
} market, the fig will probably become prominent among the list. The 
i tree attains great age, and continues to bear indefinitely. Every home 
j has its fig-trees of different varieties, and the fruit is among the most 
(wholesome articles of diet. The tree and fruit have no known 
I enemies. 

Plums of many wild varieties are found throughout the State. 
I Little attention has been bestowed on them. Some of the early South- 
! ern varieties have been found profitable for shipment North. They 
j ripen about the first of April, and can be put in the Northern market 
; at a time when they have no other fruit to compete with. 

The pecan of the West grows finely all over the State. It requires 
; no tillage and nursing. Comes into bearing from the planting of the 
1 nuts in ten or twelve years. The fruit is abundant, falls when ripe, is 
easily and cheaply gathered, bears keeping and rough shipment any 
distance in any climate, and is quoted in the New Orleans market 
to-day at 16 1-2 cents per pound, wholesale, for the best quality of 
1 Texas nuts. 

The Reverend Charles Beecher, of Massachusetts, has on his South- 
ern home at Newport, on the St. Mark's River, 21 miles south of Talla- 
hassee, a very fine grove of pecan-trees in full bearing. 

The almond grows well in Florida. Little success has been had in 



Resources of Florida. 61 

maturing fruit of any other variety than the hardshell — which variety 
is not marketable. We know of no drawback to the successful produc- 
tion of other varieties, save the heretofore want of proper care and at- 
tention. 

OF THE LIST OF SMALL FRUITS OR BERRIES, 

we think experience in Florida discards all except the blackberry, 
whortleberry, and strawberry. Currants, gooseberries, raspberries, so 
far as we know, have never proved a success in Florida. 

Blackberries and dewberries grow wild all over the State in great 
profusion. Some attention has been given in Middle Florida, where 
labor is abundant and cheap, to drying the berries for shipment. The 
dried fruit commands 8 to 14 cents per pound, net. 

Whortleberries grow luxuriantly in Hernando County, and ripen in 
April. 

Strawberries are one of the prominent subjects of interest to the 
fruit growers and market gardeners. This delightful fruit, so eagerly 
sought after in every market, grows to great perfection throughout the 
State of Florida. The fruit comes into the market too early to find 
competition from any other section, and Florida strawberries enjoy a 
monopoly in the Eastern seaboard markets for many weeks during 
January, February, and March. The production and shipment of 
the berries North is rapidly increasing, and has now assumed such 
proportions as to secure the provision by the transportation com- 
panies of suitable refrigerating cars for their proper preservation in 
transitu. 

EARLY VEGETABLES. 

The raising in Florida of early vegetables for shipment to Northern 
markets is rapidly assuming extensive proportions, and will, in all 
time to come, prove a most important and profitable feature of her 
industries. 

In South Florida tomatoes, cucumbers, and beans thus far have been 
the leading articles for shipment. The tomato has been the most 
profitable. In that section of the State the fall and winter months are 
best suited for vegetable growing. Beans, peas, cucumbers, potatoes, and 
cabbages can be grown at seasons which command for them monopo- 
lizing prices. Five, six, and seven hundred dollars per acre have been 
realized, both from cabbages and tomatoes. Cucumbers have paid as 
much to the area in tillage, to the early grower, as any vegetable on 
the list. The great drawback, thus far, to early market gardeners has 
been the want of ready and reliable transportation facilities. These, 
however, are rapidly multiplying and extending. And the vegetable 
and fruit trade will soon be so immense in this proportion as to com- 
mand for their use all the commercial facilities that human skill and in- 
dustry can supply. The State seems likely soon to become a vast 
fruit orchard and vegetable garden. 

The sweet potato comes nearer being a universal crop in Florida 



62 Resources of Florida. 

than any other the soil produces. It is easily propagated from the 
roots, sprouts, or vine, and sometimes the seed, though the latter mode 
is rarely used. From its easy propagation and cultivation, its large 
yield, and the variety and excellence of the dishes prepared from it, 
it is one of the indispensable crops. In the southern counties it may be 
planted at any season of the year, and generally is not taken from the 
ground until needed for use 

The Irish potato, or " white potato," is accredited with being a na- 
tive of Chili and Peru, and was introduced into North America by the 
Spaniards, from whence it was in 1586 carried by Sir Walter Raleigh 
to England, and perhaps acquired its name of " Irish " from the ex- 
tent to which it is grown in Ireland, and the excellence with which the 
Irish soil produces it. This tuber has within the last year or two 
taken a very prominent place among the very, profitable early crops in 
Florida. On the best class of lands truckmen have been getting 
about an average of thirty barrels of first-class shipping potatoes per 
acre, which, getting into the Eastern markets about the time the old crop 
is exhausted, have been netting, over cost of shipping and selling, about 
$4 per barrel, making, say, from $100 to $120 per acre, realized from 
land in a short period of generally 100 days, and leaving the ground 
ready for some other crop by first of May. 

There are in Florida many plants from which starch may be ob- 
tained, but there are three which are cultivated solely with a view to 
its preparation. These are the Maranta Arundenacea, or " arrow- 
root of commerce;" coontie, or "Florida arrowroot;" and the 
Manihat Utilissima; or cassava. 

Arrowroot grows well on good land. It is not extensively grown 
for market, but frequently is grown and utilized for food purposes, as 
well as starch-making. 

Coontie is indigenous to the southern counties, . where it grows 
most luxuriously. On the Miami River, in Dade County, parties have 
been engaged in manufacturing starch from this plant for the Key 
West market. It is there sometimes appropriated to the uses of the 
table. Doubtless tillage would improve it in its useful properties, just 
as other plants have been thus improved and developed. 

Cassava. — Parties who have cultivated this plant pronounce it to be 
a most excellent food crop for fattening hogs. They say that an acre of 
this crop will go further in feeding than an acre of potatoes. Like the 
potato, it may be propagated by cuttings of the stems. From this 
plant is prepared the tapioca of commerce. Recently this plant has 
been utilized in the production of glucose, which it is found to yield in 
quantities. 

Tobacco has been found, from the earliest settlement of Florida, to 
be well adapted to both the climate and soil, and has been, at different 
periods and in different localities, extensively produced. Several 
varieties of marked difference in character and quality are commonly 
cultivated. Experience has taught that Florida tobacco possesses a 
fineness and toughness of leaf that admirably suits it to the use of 
wrappers for. cigars. Before the war a wide reputation was established 



Resources of Florida. 63 

by the planters in the County of Gadsden for the production of what 
was termed the " Florida Speckled Leaf," which was pronounced the 
very best for wrappers grown anywhere, and commanded unusually 
high prices. The lands of that county were found to be peculiarly 
suited to its production. One thousand pounds was the average yield 
per acre, and several handsome fortunes were amassed by its culture. 
A highly flavored and fragrant article of tobacco is being extensively 
planted for home consumption in many portions of the State. This 
quite equals in the excellence of its flavor the Cuban weed ; is indeed 
grown from seed originally introduced from that island. What are 
known as shell hammocks in the County of Wakulla, in Middle Florida, 
and indeed in many other parts of the State, are most admirably suited 
to the production of this Cuba variety, and are just now attracting re- 
newed attention for that purpose. 

Melons of every variety, from the classic pumpkin to the primitive 
gourd, abound in Florida, are of the very finest quality, and in the 
cantaloupe and watermelon furnish only an additional entry to the 
shipping list of the truckman, and are by no means one of his least 
profitable interests. 

500 acres were planted in watermelons in Jefferson and Madison 
counties this year. 

Silk might easily be made a most profitable industry in Florida. 
The Morns Multicaulis and M. Alba — both grow most luxuriantly. 
Cuttings of either laid horizontally in furrows, and covered in early 
spring, put up a vigorous sprout at every joint, and grow in ten years 
to be hedges of stout canes. These kept cut back, so as to stool and 
multiply the number of sprouts, and not allowed to grow into trees, and 
thus elude the reach, will the third year, and thereafter, furnish heavy 
crops of foliage for feeding the worms. 

Honey is rapidly becoming a staple product of Florida, whose 
climate and flora seem specially adapted to the propagation of bees. 
Even in the winter months, in South Florida, there is a supply of 
flowers quite sufficient to support the hives. This permits heavier tolls 
to be made on them, as less honey must be left to feed during winter. 
Bees work in South Florida all winter. 

Mr. W. S. Hart, of New Smyrna, is the most prominent apiarist in 
Florida, and is Vice-President of the North American Bee-keepers 
Society. 

This gentleman says : " In some portions of Florida bee-keeping 
pays better than in any other State. I have never seen or known 
of a diseased colony of bees in the State. The enemies are 
toads, dragon-flies, ants, moths, and birds. I consider the coast 
counties south of 29th parallel unsurpassed for the industry. Our 
bees winter perfectly on summer stands and gather honey or pollen 
every month in the year. Some of the leading honey and pollen 
producing trees are the maple, willow, sweet-gum, bays, orange, myrtle, 
oak, bass-wood, hickory, youpon," mock-olive, saw-palmetto cabbage- 
palmetto, and mangrove, the last two of which come together in the 
middle of summer, and are unequaled as honey-producers by anything 



64 Resources of Florida. 

else in the whole vegetable kingdom known to the writer. They pro- 
duce honey in abundance of the finest quality, and we think it safe to 
say never fail to produce a good crop. We also have honey-producing 
vines and plants too numerous to mention." 

WOODS. 

Numerous inquiries have been addressed to the writer from differ- 
ent quarters as to the supply and location of different commercial 
woods to be found in Florida. 

Besides her boundless areas of yellow pine, whose timber is supply- 
ing the world's markets, there is in Florida, perhaps, a larger supply of 
cypress timber than in any other section of the United States. This 
timber for the manufacture of staves for syrup and sugar barrels and 
hogsheads is unsurpassed, is being extensively sawed and shipped to 
the prairie States as railroad cross-ties, and is rapidly coming in de- 
mand, especially in Germany, for ship-building. It is, too, the shingle 
timber of the South. Untold fortunes are still standing in this timber 
along the numerous rivers, lakes, lagoons, and swamps. 

The live-oak, so durable and valuable for ship-knees, is still abun- 
dant along the coast and rivers, and of the most gigantic size. 

Red cedar, of the very best quality, abounds in all the low ham- 
mock lands along the coast and rivers. The cutting of this timber has 
for years been a prominent industry. Large supplies are consumed by 
cedar-mills at Cedar Keys and Tampa, where quantities of this wood are 
sawed to supply the pencil factories of A. W. Faber & Co. 

White-oak, suitable for stave timber, is to be found in very consid- 
erable quantities in many portions of the State — in the counties of Jack- 
son, Calhoun, Gadsden, Jefferson, and Wakulla, in Middle Florida. 
Especially in the great hammocks along St. Mark's and Wakulla Rivers, 
in the latter county, are to be found rich supplies of this valuable timber, 
ready of access from the streams. So rapid is growth, that upon large 
plantation tracts., cultivated up to the beginning of the late war, and 
since then left idle, forests of white-oak have sprung up, and, in the 
short space of twenty-two years, attained a growth that will square from 
ten to twelve inches. It is a curious sight to ride through a forest of 
stately trees and count the old corn rzdges beneath them. 

Red-oak is the principal timber growth over extensive areas of 
high hammock in the hill country of Middle Florida. This timber, 
while somewhat too porous and too brash to be used in the manufac- 
ture of agricultural implements, answers admirably for staves for a 
certain class of barrels, and furnishes a most abundant supply of tan- 
bark, making the manufacture of leather a cheap and profitable indus- 
try in that section. 

Many other varieties of oak abound throughout the State. 

Hickory is abundant over extensive areas. Trees of the most 
extraordinary size are to be found in all the hammocks. The climate 
of Florida makes the second growth of this ordinarily slow-growing 
tree rapid, and inexhaustible supplies of most excellent hickory can for 



Resources of Florida. 65 

years be drawn from the hammocks all over Florida. The same is 
true of the ash in many localities. 

Poplar is a common growth along most of the rivers ; the supply 
is good. 

Wild cherry and black walnut are not so abundant, but are very 
rapid growers and attain great size. Several enterprising spirits pro- 
pose the planting of extensive plantations of black walnut on the shell 
lands along the St. Mark's Railroad in Wakulla County. The cheap- 
ness of the lands (Old Forbes' Purchase), their wonderful fertility, the 
rapidity with which a wood of black walnut attains marketable growth 
(about fifteen years), and the absence of any cost of culture and fen- 
cing, it is thought, makes such a scheme a safe and sure investment. 

"Stinking cedar" {Torreya Taxifolia Arnott) is an evergreen, be- 
longing to the yew tribe of conifers, peculiar to Florida, and confined 
to a rather limited locality near Aspalaga, on the Apalachicola River. 
The timber is possessed of the most remarkable durability, great 
lightness, is soft, splits straight, can be rived as thin as card-board, 
has elasticity, receives a high polish, and ought to be valuable for any 
purposes requiring these qualities in a high degree. It is said that the 
dead trunks of the torreya are to be found imbedded in the alluvial 
drift of the Apalachicola River bottom in a perfect state of preser- 
vation (as to the heart), and that they must, from every indication, 
have been exposed to the decomposing influences of earth and water 
for centuries. The lamp-posts in the Capitol Grounds in Tallahassee 
are made of this remarkable wood. 

Red bay {Laurens Carolinensis) is commonly termed " Florida 
mahogany." It is very abundant throughout the hammocks and 
swamps of Florida. Its dark-colored, handsomely-veined wood makes 
it valuable for cabinet work. It commands ready sale in the markets. 

It would be quite an endless task to enumerate the long list of 
Florida woods that have been and could be utilized in the arts. As yet, 
except in the case of pine, cypress, cedar, and live-oak, very little has 
been done in manufacturing timber from the many valuable trees in the 
State. Vast forests of most valuable wood have been felled and 
burned. As transportation facilities are increased and manufacturing 
developed, more attention will be directed to the sawing of hard 
woods. 

STOCK-RAISING, 

as applied in Florida, embraces so many purposes, methods, and de- 
grees of profitable success, that it is quite difficult in the limits of a pub- 
lication of this character to discuss it intelligibly to one totally unfamil- 
iar with it. 

Along the coast, in all the counties east of Escambia, are to be 
found larger or smaller herds of cattle. These run at large through 
the pine woods, swamps, or salt marshes, and thrive on the coarse 
pasturage in a manner quite profitable and satisfactory to their owners, 
who " round up " once a year, mark and brand the new calves, and give 



66 Resources of Florida. 

little other attention. So little expense attends this sort of stock-rais- 
ing that, notwithstanding the poor character of the cattle produced, 
they prove valuable. Indeed, the hide and tallow in a five-year-old 
steer would return a good profit on the cost of his keep. These cattle 
are small, with thick heavy necks and fore-parts and narrow loins, but 
when fat will clean, at four years old, about 500 to 600 pounds, which 
finds ready sale among Floridians at from 6 to 10 cents per pound. 
There are stock-men in all the coast counties west of the Suwanee, 
however, who realize very handsome results from the sale of these 
cattle. It is doubtful whether the rough pasturage they rely upon will 
admit of a very marked improvement in these cattle, even if crossed 
with improved breeds. 

In the northern counties of Middle Florida, on the red lands, 
where many varieties of excellent pasture grasses abound, and where 
stock are kept under fence, a very different tone of things exists. 
Thoroughbreds of the Durham, Devon, Jersey, Ayreshire, Hereford, 
and Alderney breeds have for some years been introduced and liber- 
ally used, until a large percentage of the cattle in that section are 
grades of one or the other of these bloods. The Bermuda grass pas- 
turages of these counties are naturally of a very fine quality, and of 
recent years are receiving a degree of attention tending very greatly to 
their rapid improvement. Stock-raising of all kinds is being fostered 
by the farmers as most profitable adjuncts to their farming operations, 
not only in the growing of manures, but the ready sale at good prices 
of the dairy products and increase. Near the towns of Madison; Mon- 
ticello, and Tallahassee are to be found several herds of thorough- 
breds that do credit to their owners, and are fast winning a reputation 
for these places for excellent dairy products. Butter exhibited at the 
annual exhibition of the Middle Florida Agricultural and Mechanical 
Association compares most favorably with the production of any dairy 
districts. This is a rapidly growing industry in these localities, and 
bids fair to take a prominent place. 

In South Florida cattle-raising is a leading industry. More capital 
has been employed in it than in the tillage of the soil, until within the 
last few years. 

That this investment pays well has this practical proof : more 
money has been made in that business than in any other, until quite' re- 
cently, and a number have thus grown wealthy. The cattle are not so 
large as those grown in Texas. First, because the native grass of that 
part of Florida is less nutritious than that of Texas, and, further, far 
less attention has been given here to improve the native breeds of 
stock. The buyers in the Cuban markets, to which shipments are 
made, are said to prefer the Florida to the Texas beef. If the South 
Florida grass be not so nutritious, it seems to impart a more agreeable 
flavor to the flesh. 

As cattle-raising has been a paying enterprise in the past history of 
the State, so it is likely to be still, in some places, for years to come. 
Gradually, however, it will be forced to retire before the tread of a pop- 
ulation too dense to leave it, as at present, the whole land surface for 



Resources of Florida. 67 

pasturage. These cattle-men have a large experience of their observ- 
ing powers through what they see and what they hear, and the thinking 
each one does for himself. They are really better informed frequently 
than some who know far more than they about books. These men will 
see the trend of things, and be ready to change their investments 
as soon as it will be best for them and for the country. 

As the inquiring immigrant must needs pass through the country t 
the better to see if it be suited to the supply of his wants, and as a 
thinly-settled country is, for that reason, less inviting to the traveler, it 
may be pertinent for his encouragement to mention one prominent 
feature in the population of the Southern counties. I mean the cordial 
hospitality which is met at their hearthstones. As in nature they are 
the same with other men, we suppose ready hospitality must result from 
their employments and surroundings. They need frequently the help 
one of another in herding their stock ; then, in the woods and at the 
table of some one of their number, most of the men of a pretty wide 
circle frequently take their meals together. They are thus put in sym- 
pathy one with another. Another characteristic of the section is to 
add but little to their bill of fare because of the company. The dishes 
ordinarily provided for the family are set before the guests. And as it 
costs less trouble, so he is the more heartily welcome than in many 
places where there is more preparation and more pretension in the re- 
ception given. From whatever source this trait of character may 
have originated, it is now the habit of the people, and will sometimes 
cheer the traveler as he journeys through a strange land. 

Sheep have been found to do well in Florida wherever they have been 
given a fair trial. In many portions of the State, where the land is very 
thin and sandy, the vegetation is correspondingly sparse and coarse ; 
and while sheep will live on it and increase at a fair rate, they of 
course under such circumstances produce an inferior quality of both 
wool and mutton, and tend very much to become bare of wool on the 
legs and bellies ; but their continued presence has been found to gradu- 
ally overcome these very drawbacks, and, under their grazing, pine 
woods, originally very scant of vegetation, have in a few years become 
enriched ; new characters of weeds and grass have sprung up, and sheep 
and new crops prove of mutual benefit to one another. In some other 
portions of the State, especially in the counties west of the Apalachicola 
River, the rolling pine woods furnish pasturage of a much better char- 
acter, and sheep have been found to do proportionately well. There 
are to be found in that part of the State some very fair flocks, and the 
profits therefrom, when compared with the cost of their maintenance, 
show a net perhaps beyond what is realized by breeders of a higher class 
with more expensive surroundings. Sheep, like goats, feed upon a 
greater variety of plants than cattle, and are susceptible of profitable 
handling on pastures that would not support a herd. 

On the red lands of the middle and northern portions of the State 
sheep have always proved profitable. Heretofore the extensive cul- 
ture of cotton and other agricultural crops has rather tended to keep 
all available lands in cultivation ; but as the supply and quality of col- 



68 Resources of Florida. 

ored labor has decreased in that section, many broad acres have been 
turned out. On :hese old plantations the Bermuda grass, having no 
longer the plough and hoe to contend with, has asserted itself, and ex- 
tensive pasturages of this nutritious crop new invite the introduction of 
flocks. 

The farmers of this section are, as a rule, very intelligent and wide- 
awake people ; are not slow to perceive the advantages of the new op- 
portunity, and are beginning to turn attention and money in this new 
channel. Bucks of improved strains are being introduced, both of long 
and medium wools. 

In the southernmost counties of the State sheep husbandry is rapidly 
increasing, and is thought to be more profitable than cattle. 

Hogs can be raised as cheaply and of as fine quality as anywhere. In 
ante-bellum times all planters in Middle Florida were large pro- 
ducers of bacon. The difficulty of protecting them from theft in that 
region since the "old plantation smoke-houses" ceased to be a certain 
source of supply, has done much to limit the business. Yet many small 
farmers in all the northern counties have introduced Berkshire, Poland 
China, Essex, and Chester White breeds, and beside their entire home 
supply have a surplus of bacon, hams, and lard to dispose of at good 
prices. In many other portions of the State this character of stock is 
allowed to run at large ; they gain a living in the woods, and in one 
and two years grow large enough to kill, having cost their owners 
nothing. 

Horses in some parts of the State are being bred profitably, and of a 
most excellent quality. The " cow-ponies" in use among the cattle- 
men of the South are a breed as peculiar to Florida as is the mustang 
in Texas. They are admirably suited to the uses made of them. In 
Madison, Jefferson, Marion, Alachua, Leon, Gadsden, and Jackson 
Counties, some thoroughbred stallions have for some years been made 
use of, and many very stylish-youngsters are to be found in the stables 
of breeders in those localities. The presence of nutritious grasses in 
those counties, together with the firm, smooth roadways, gives advan- 
tage and attraction to the raising of horses and mules that is wanted 
elsewhere. 

In the annual premium list of the agricultural shows and stock ex- 
hibitions in those sections, a prominent place is given native colts. Less 
attention has been directed to the acquirement of speed in the produc- 
tion of horses in that part of Florida than to the acquisition in the 
colts of style, bottom, and general usefulness. 

FISH. 

The great variety and excellence of the fish in Florida is not one of 
the least attractions, whether to the sportsman or more practical house- 
wife. The lakes and streams of the fresh waters abound in fish of 
the finest quality, prominent among which are the black bass, pike, 
jack, bream, and many varieties of the perch family. Along the coast 
the list of varieties is longer than the fisherman's list of names for 



Resources of Florida. 69 

them. Red snapper, black snapper or grouper, sheephead, red- fish, 
black-fish, pompano, Spanish mackerel, rock-fish, mullet, and a long 
list of small " pan-fish" are chief among the marketable varieties. The 
pompano is regarded as the choice among epicures. The snapper and 
grouper are both deep-water fish, and are taken in great numbers by 
smacks on the banks off shore for the Havana, New Orleans, and 
Galveston markets. They can be kept for weeks in the "wells" 
of the fishing smacks without injury. On both the Atlantic and 
Gulf coasts there are extensive fisheries, where, in the season of 
the "run," mullet are taken in vast numbers at the seine-yards. 
Some of the strikes made by the fortunate seine-masters number 
hundreds of barrels. These fish take salt quite as well as the mack- 
erel of the northern waters, and furnish an abundant supply of 
cheap and wholesome food to the inhabitants. 

Along the Gulf coast west of the Suwanee, and especially on the coast 
line of Wakulla and Franklin Counties, the revenue derived from this 
industry is considerable. The proximity of those points to the south- 
ern counties of Alabama and Georgia enables the small farmers of those 
sections to reach the Florida coast in their farm wagons. About the 
first of October, when the " run " of the fish commences, the Georgia 
and Alabama farmer takes his wife and children in his wagon and 
journeys southward. A week of recreation is spent, after the year's 
work, on the beach, where these " up-country " folk enjoy the salt air 
and water, and return home with several barrels of pickled fish to be 
eaten during the winter. Last fall it was estimated that more than 
three hundred Georgia wagons passed through Tallahassee alone, on 
their way to the fisheries. How many fisheries there are on the whole 
coast we are not advised, nor what quantities of fish are shipped to 
points beyond the State, but assuredly it is a growing and paying in- 
dustry. Perhaps no waters abound in fish in greater quantity or of bet- 
ter quality than the waters of the coast of Florida. There was shipped 
from Cedar Keys, in 1880, 1,701,000 pounds of barreled fish, of the 
value of $68,000. The Key West Democrat, of April 1st, 1882, states 
that about one dozen schooners of Key West, aggregating 750 tons, 
were then engaged in the taking of fish for the Havana market. Re- 
cently the catch of several fisheries along the coast have been uti- 
lized in the manufacture of a fish fertilizer, which is taking a high 
place among the farmers and promises to develop into an extensive 
industry. 

Green Turtle may be mentioned as another commodity of the 
Florida coast. In Key West the beef and turtle markets adjoin. 
They are both supplied with about equal regularity, and very many pre- 
fer the turtle to the beef, particularly after the latter has been submit- 
ted to the hardships of a voyage from the mainland. Turtle are 
shipped alive to the Northern markets from Key West, and some- 
times car-loads of them pass over the Florida Transit and West 
India Railroad from Cedar Keys on their way North. One of the 
sports of persons living near the coast is walking the beach in April 
and May, watching for and "turning" the turtle that crawl out 



70 Resources of Florida. 

upon the shore in that season to lay. When they find the tur- 
tle making her nest or laying her eggs, a sufficient number of persons 
lay hold and turn her upon her back. She is then helpless, unable to 
re-turn herself, so as to have the use of her feet. Parties are thus 
supplied with both the turtle and her eggs, and both are prized as 
savory food. 

Oysters are so continuous around the coast that, when the railroad 
and canal system now in course of construction shall have been complet- 
ed, a supply, at short notice, will reach any part of the interior of the 
State in a few hours, at the expense of gathering and short freightage. 
Cedar Keys has already commenced their shipment, and for all the 
distance that ice can make them safe freightage, fresh, canned, and 
in the shell, this commerce is likely to extend. The supply seems in- 
exhaustible. 

Sponge. — The gathering of sponge along the Gulf coast has rapidly 
become an industry of considerable importance. The principal 
sponge reefs lie to the southeastward of the port of St. Mark's, between 
that point and Cedar Keys. It has been quite impossible to ascertain 
definitely the number of vessels engaged in this business, or the value 
of the aggregated catch. The Key West Democrat, of April ist, 1882, 
gives the number of vessels from that port alone engaged in taking 
sponge at 150, and the value of the sponge shipped from that point 
during the past year as amounting to $250,000. Since Cedar Keys, 
St. Mark's, Rio Carabelle, and Apalachicola are also extensively engaged 
in this business, it will be fair to estimate the number of additional 
craft on the reef at three times the above number, and the value of the 
whole amount of sponge taken in the year at a little short, if any, of 
$750,000. Spongers report the growth of these fish on the reef to be 
increasing, and there is reason to expect the business to develop much 
greater proportions. 

FERTILIZERS. 

Phosphatic rocks have been found in Alachua and Clay Counties. 
Some of these rocks from Clay were sent to the office of the Scientific 
American, with the inquiry as to whether they were of such character 
and firmness as suited them for building material. The reply was that 
they would do well for building material, but much better for agricul- 
tural purposes. That they contained a large percentage of the phos- 
phate of lime — that which gives to the rock near Charleston, S. C., its 
value as a fertilizer, the mining of which has proved such a bonanza 
since the war. 

Green marl is also found in some of the counties in several portions 
of the State. The green marl of New Jersey, besides the lime, clay, 
and sand of ordinary marl, is said to contain about 4 per cent, of phos- 
phoric acid, one of the scarce and yet important elements of plant food. 

Over an extended area embraced between the Wakulla and St. 
Mark's Rivers, in Wakulla County, and indeed extending far to the west- 
ward of the former river, there exists a rich deposit of phosphoric rock, 



Resources of Florida. J\ 

and the soil of the hammocks in which this rock is found gives evi- 
dences in its forest growth of a fertility surpassed by none in Florida. 
Nowhere could the utilization or manufactory of a commercial ferti- 
lizer be more cheaply and conveniently engaged in than there, on ac- 
count of the transportation facilities enjoyed both by water and rail. 

All over the State are sulphur springs, and an examination may 
find beds of sulphur near the surface worth working. Some prepara- 
tion has already been made for working the lime deposits of Levy 
County. 

SPRINGS. 

Besides innumerable springs of ordinary character and dimensions, 
sources of creeks and streams, as in other countries, Florida possesses a 
feature in spring formation as novel in character as they are surpass- 
ingly beautiful in appearance. 

The bursting of great rivers at one bound from the earth is the re- 
markable feature of some of Florida's fountains. 

Beneath the surface of limestone formation underlying the State 
numerous rivers course toward the sea. In many places no evidences 
of them are observable until they rise to the surface through great 
caverns or fissures in the limestone, often of wonderful depths. Most 
prominent among these is Silver Spring in Marion County, and the 
famous Wakulla Spring in the county of that name, sixteen miles south 
of Tallahassee. Thousands of visitors have seen the Silver Spring, 
upon which steamboats float. The Wakulla, being in a section here- 
tofore less traversed by winter visitors to Florida, is not so familiarly 
known. Both deserve descriptions our space will not admit of. Their 
great size, depth and transparency are their most striking features. 
Lying on the bottom of Wakulla Spring, 180 feet (so reported from 
actual measurement) below the surface, a dime piece can be as dis- 
tinctly seen as through the atmosphere. Indeed, an object is even 
more plainly discernible than at the same distance through the air, as 
the boil of the waters gives them the conformation of a lense, and thus 
they acquire magnifying properties. 

Certainly, no natural object can be more beautiful than the ap- 
pearance of this great fountain, on a clear day, when no wind dis- 
turbs the face of its waters. 

The Blue Spring of Volusia County, in South Florida, a little way 
east from St. John's River, is thus described by a writer : 

" There is a basin 70 feet in diameter and about 40 feet in depth. A 
huge bowl, from the centre of which a column of blue-tinted water 
presses upward with such force that the centre of the surface is convex 
to the extent of perhaps ten inches, and it is impossible to put or keep 
a boat on this summit, such is the force of the hydraulic pressure up- 
ward and laterally. This stream, which this gigantic spring feeds, is 
about 50 feet wide, and an average depth of 10 feet, with a current of 
about five miles an hour. The scenery about this locality is beautiful 
and picturesque in the extreme, and worth a long journey to see." 



7 2 Resources of Florida. 

There are many such springs to be found in different parts of 
Florida. They are all subterranean rivers up to the points where they 
break forth. They all contain lime enough to precipitate any sedi- 
ment or discoloring matter, leaving the water perfectly clear. Fish 
of many sorts and sizes are seen gamboling in their depths or gliding 
about through the waters seeking their food. The ripples on the sur- 
face refract the rays of the sun, when at the proper angle, and give the' 
varied colors of the rainbow, and lend a sort of enchantment to the 
view. 

There are also mineral springs in several parts of the State, whose 
waters, as tested in many cases, have curative properties, and 
are the resort of invalids. Of this class are the Newport Springs 
on St. Mark's River, in Wakulla County, the Hampton Springs 
of Taylor, the White Sulphur Springs of Hamilton, the Suwanee 
Springs of Suwanee, and the Green Cove Springs of Clay. 

Persons afflicted with rheumatism, dyspepsia, and diseases of the 
liver have met with very remarkable cures from drinking and bathing 
in the waters of these springs. 



Florida Lands, 



BY R. C. LONG. 



HOW TO PROCURE THEM. 

UNITED STATES lands still vacant in Florida are subject to 
entry by land warrants, by purchase, and by homestead entry. 
Such lands are to be found in almost every township in the 
State. In the older settlements, where transportation facilities 
have been long enjoyed, and the lands are of good quality, very little, if 
any, vacant land can be found. All inquiries as to United States lands 
should be addressed to L. A. Barnes, Register United States Land 
Office, Gainesville, Florida. 

The State Land Office, with Hon. P. W. White as Commissioner, is 
at Tallahassee. All inquiries as to vacant State lands should be made 
to him. Such a map as is so often asked for, showing the location of 
all vacant land in the State, was never published by any State, and 
would be quite impracticable, since daily entries would require a daily 
revision of the map to make it accurate. Indeed, we would advise in- 
tending purchasers to rely solely on their personal inspection of land 
in selecting locations. First find a piece of land that suits you, then 
ascertain to whom it belongs, and, whether public or private land, 
secure it by purchase. The State lands are to be found scattered 
everywhere. Like the United States lands, few State lands of any 
value or desirable quality are left in sections of the country where land 
is good, settlements old, and agriculture has been pursued for any 
length of time. 

School lands and Seminary lands are subject to entry at their ap- 
praised value, not less than $1.25 per acre. A large portion of these 
lands is held at $1.25 per acre, but some tracts are valued as high as 
$7. Payment may be made in United States currency or State scrip. 

Internal Improvement lands are generally $1.25 per acre, none less; 
some as high as $6.50 per acre. 

Swamp lands — for forty acres — $1 per acre ; for more than forty and 
not exceeding eighty acres, 90 cents per acre ; for more than eighty 
and not exceeding two hundred acres, 80 cents per acre ; for more 
than 200 and not exceeding six hundred and forty acres, 75 cents per 
acre ; for more than six hundred and forty acres, 70 cents per acre. 

In case of entries of land at less than $1 per acre, the land must not 
be in detached pieces, but must lie in a body. 

73 



74 How to Procure Land in Florida. 

For Internal Improvement and Swamp lands nothing is receivable 
in payment except United States currency. 

Terms of sale in all cases cash. 

Lands cannot be reserved from sale for the benefit of any applicant. 
An application not accompanied with the full amount of purchase 
money does not give any priority. 

But by act of March 7, 1881, " actual settlers upon any of the public 
lands of this State may enter the lands upon which they reside or have 
in cultivation, not to exceed 160 acres, to be taken in compact form 
according to the legal subdivisions, at the prices now or hereafter to be 
established for such lands, by paying one-third the purchase money at 
the time of the entry, one-third of the same within two years thereafter, 
and the remaining one-third within three years after the date of entry." 

By act of 16th of February, 1872, the right of homestead is given on 
the overflowed and swamp lands, as follows : 

" Section 6. Any person who is the head of a family, or who has 
arrived at the age of twenty-one years, and is a citizen of the United 
States, or who shall have filed his declaration of an intention to be- 
come such, as required by the laws of the United States, shall, from 
and after the first day of April, be entitled to enter one-quarter sec- 
tion, or a less quantity, of the unsold swamp and overflowed lands 
granted to the State of Florida by act Congress, approved 28th day of 
September, 1850. Any person owning or residing on land may, 
under the provisions of sections six to thirteen of this chapter, enter 
other lands contiguous to his or her said land, which shall not, with 
the lands so already owned and occupied, exceed in the aggregate 160 
acres. 

" Section 7. The person applying for the benefit of section six 
shall file with the Commissioner of Lands his or her affidavit that he or 
she is the head of a family, or is twenty-one years or more of age, and 
that such application is made for his or her exclusive use and benefit, 
and that the said entry is made for the purpose of actual settlement 
and cultivation, and not directly or indirectly for the use and benefit 
of any other person or persons whatsoever, and upon filing said 
affidavit with the Commissioner of Lands, and upon payment of ten 
dollars where the entry is more than eighty acres, and of five dollars 
where the entry is not of more than eighty acres, he Or she shall there- 
upon be permitted to enter the amount of land specified. Provided, 
however, that no deed shall issue therefor until the expiration of five 
years from the date of such entry ; and if at the expiration of such 
time, or any time within two years thereafter, the person making such 
entry, or, if he be dead, his widow, or, in case of her death, his heirs or 
devisees, or, in case of a widow making such entry, her heirs or de- 
visees, in case of her death, shall prove by two credible witnesses that 
he, she, or they have reclaimed said lands by means of levees and 
drains, and resided upon and cultivated the same for the term of five 
years immediately succeeding the time of filing the affidavit afore- 
said, and shall make affidavit that no part of said land has been alien- 
ated ; then, in such case, he, she, or they shall be entitled to a deed." 



Florida Lands. 75 

THEIR CHARACTERISTICS. 

As to what lands are best to purchase and as to the relative merits of 
pine and hammock lands, there is a theory that we are disposed to en- 
tertain with regard to why the greater portion of the State of Florida 
is covered with pine-trees, which are evergreen, instead of deciduous, 
and other hard-wood trees, the growth of which upon land in Florida, 
causes it to be distinguished as "hammock," a distinction, so far as 
the original character of the soil is concerned, without a difference. 

From various causes, frequently from lightning, often from care- 
lessness and accident, and sometimes purposely by the owners of 
cattle, the wild lands of Florida are annually burned over. 

The stock-men resort to this means of getting rid of the tough, dry 
grass stems in early spring, and inducing a fresh and tender growth of 
grass for their half-starved cattle that have wintered on climate and 
wire-grass in the open woods; but it is also true that the sajne practice 
was resorted to by the former Indian inhabitants, whose object was to 
furnish tender picking for the herds of deer, to induce these animals to 
leave the swamps and resort to the dry country. 

The pine-tree is propagated from seeds that fall from the cones 
late in the autumn. The seeds are provided with thin membranous 
wings, upon which they are blown by the winds and distributed over 
the land. The winter rains plant them. Early in the spring the 
young pine appears as a green spike that shoots up six or eight inches 
before its leaves begin to spread, after which it grows rapidly for eight 
or nine months. The green leaves of this young tree are practically 
non-combustible, and the only bud it bears is in the top of the tall 
stalk and thoroughly enveloped in a green coating. 

When it is about ten or eleven months old, the annual wood-burning 
takes place. Fire sweeps over the face of the pine region ; every sprig of 
grass, every weed, and every deciduous shrub and tree that has sprung 
up since the last annual burn, is destroyed. All the hard-wood growths 
have their eyes or buds distributed regularly along the stalks and stems, 
entirely unprotected from the fire, and as the growth of all plants of 
this character is slow in its early stages as compared with those of the 
pine, none gets far enough advanced in the twelvemonth to rise above 
the flames; and so they perish, while the young pine escapes with a se- 
vere scorching, which the bud survives. Thus, upon the principle of 
the survival of the fittest, the pine becomes master of the situation and 
sole proprietor of the wood land. But natural and artificial barriers are 
often offered to the progress of these forest burns. 

Natural impediments' consist of gullies, creeks, rivers, or ponds, 
across which the fire does not cross when traveling before some pre- 
vailing wind. If the rainy season, which comes in the winter before 
the usual burnings begin, has been an exceptionally wet one, all de- 
pressed places become filled with water. These flats sometimes extend 
considerable distances in irregular courses. Imagine the woods on 
fire, and the flames traveling slowly along the surface toward the 
south-west before a gentle north-east wind, destroying every vestige 



?6 Florida Lands. 

of vegetation not too much grown to be within its reach. Suddenly it 
encounters a slight depression in the surface of the land, where stands 
an inch or two of rain-water. This depression reaches perhaps in an 
irregular course for miles either way. It of course puts an end to the 
"burn." On the opposite side of this wet depression the little oaks, 
hickories, magnolias, and bays, that have put up since the last burn, are 
not swept away this year, but get another year's growth. This first 
season's escape is enough to give these deciduous trees a foothold, 
and enable them to rear their heads high enough to escape complete 
destruction, even should no protecting water interpose the second 
year. 

Here, then, we have an incipient hammock, making its beginning on 
sandy " piney woods " land, in no particular different from, or better 
than, that over which the fire has swept, and which remains pine 
land. 

In a very few years, in this semi-tropical climate, this young 
orchard of hard- wood bushes has become a pronounced hammock of 
spreading shade-trees, whose shadows protect the originally poor and 
sandy soil from the summer's sun, and whose annual crop of castaway 
foliage tends year after year to add mould to the ground, which, under 
these two powerful fertilizing agencies, gradually changes from the 
original white sand to a dark, often black, loamy soil, as fertile as fertile 
can be. It is no uncommon thing to find such parcels of land in South 
Florida of wonderful fertility, possessing an upper soil of partially de 
composed leaf mould several feet deep. 

These hammocks command high prices. They are esteemed so 
much more fertile and desirable than adjacent pine lands, and the 
comparative growth of orange-trees while young is so obviously in 
favor of the hammock land, that the uninitiated are readily induced to 
appreciate the greater value attached to hammock land. 

Now we would offer a word or two of friendly caution on this head 
to new settlers in South Florida — or, indeed, in any part of Florida 
where the soil is sandy — especially to poor men, whose supply of ready 
money is more or less precarious. We say be cautious how you give it 
away in double, triple, and quadruple prices for a tract of hammock 
land when a fair piece of pine land can be had at very much lower 
prices. 

Remember three things, viz. : 

ist. That the most troublesome and expensive process that a settler 
in the woods has to encounter is the felling of trees and clearing of 
land. 

2d. That in Florida it costs from two to ten times as much to clear 
an acre of hammock land as it does to prepare an acre of pine land ; 
and 

3d. Bear in mind that twenty, thirty, or fifty years ago these ham- 
mocks were identically like the present pine woods ; that any potash, 
phosphates, or nitrogenous matter they may now contain in excess of 
the adjacent pine land is entirely owing to the annual supply of foliage 
deposited and the moisture engendered by the shade ; and that from 



Florida Lands. TJ 

the moment you cut the first bush you are removing the only source of 
supply of these essential elements. Remember that the processes of 
decomposition of vegetable matter are rapid; that so soon as the supply 
of humus is exhausted in this costly hammock land, it will resolve itself 
into its original condition, and about the fourth or sixth year of culti- 
vation will become a tolerably fair quality of sandy land, not a bit better 
than the pine lands proper. 

Calculate what advantage the man, paying fancy figures for a piece 
of hammock, and exorbitant prices to get it cleared, and then exhaust- 
ing it in a few years, has over a more frugal person who saves his cash 
by buying pine land, costing little to clear, and building it up in a few 
years by judicious cultivation, and the turning under of fertilizing 
crops. 

There is no question that the making of an orange grove on ham- 
mock land is attended with much more satisfactory appearances and 
results during the first few years; but before purchasing land, let the 
prudent immigrant take a careful look at two old groves — one on one- 
dollar-and-a-quarter pine land (or lands worth $5 to $10 per acre at 
most, if purchased from individuals), and the other on quondam ham- 
mock land, that cost the owner probably $50 to $100 per acre, and if 
he can see a sufficient difference in the character of the trees and fruit 
of the latter over the former to justify the great difference in cost, he 
will be able to do more than we can after twenty years of observa- 
tion. 

A good point for an immigrant to make a note of is the fact that 
in the majority of cases the difference between the original cost of pur- 
chase and clearing pine lands in Florida, and hammock lands, if judi- 
ciously expended in suitable fertilizers and tillage, will make of the for- 
mer better land than the latter. 

What is said above with regard to the comparative merits of ham- 
mock and pine lands relates only to hammocks occurring in sandy 
regions, and not to such as stand on clay soil, of which latter very 
extensive areas occur in some parts of the State. In South Florida 
the County of Hernando can boast as excellent clay hammock lands as 
are to be found in the South. Indeed, but for the fact that it was only 
just before the beginning of the late civil war that this part of Florida 
was relieved from the dangers of Indian hostilities, Hernando County 
would have developed under the old slave system, as did Marion, Ala- 
chua, and the red clay lands of Middle Florida. So that a statement 
heretofore made, to the effect that the presence of negroes in numbers 
among the population of a county is a certain indication of the suit- 
ableness of such place to agricultural purposes, and their absence is to 
be taken as evidence of unfitness for such ends, does not apply to Her- 
nando. 

These red clay lands are good, and when a settler is asked to pay 
his money liberally for such property, he need not hesitate to do so, for 
in them he will find a heritage for his children. They are not " good 
just a little bit on top," like a sugared cake, but are good all the way 
through, and when the leaf mould and black top soil is all worn away 



78 Florida Lands. 

forty years after being cleared and cultivated, the raw clay that remains 
will make profitable crops of anything, and that without fertilizing. 

The word "hammock" is made too general a use of by land-men in 
dealing with new-comers to Florida. There are many grades of ham- 
mock land in Florida. 

The only two that we think possess such real superiority as to justify 
paying more money for them than for good pine land — especially if the 
latter has a clay subsoil — are the red clay and hilly areas of some of 
the counties in Middle Florida, or the splendid belt of hammock of like 
character in Hernando, and the black soil shell hammocks to be found 
in many parts of the State, and especially in several of the counties of 
South Florida. The strength and heart of these lands was put 
into them long before any of the tree growth now covering them was 
in existence. There is a wealth of fertility in them that never wears 
out, and the capabilities of these lands is simply wonderful. 
They are scarce and high-priced, and if the Government of the 
United States, or the State, still own any subject to entry, which we 
question, it is somewhere in South Florida, probably among the Inter- 
nal Improvement lands proper, belonging to the State, some of which 
are yet to be had in Hernando and Polk Counties. 

There is another character of hammock land to be found along 
some of the rivers of South Florida, a familiar sample of 'which is the 
old Gamble hammock, near the town of Manatee, in Manatee County. 

This is not red clay, nor yet the shell and black earth that distin- 
guishes the shell hammocks proper, and is utterly unlike the leaf mould 
that overlies the hidden sand of the character of hammock we first 
described as being the result of the exclusion of fire in the, pine 
woods. 

The character of the soil is rather more like the black bottom lands 
of some of the Western rivers. It contains sand, will scour a plough, 
it is deep, black, and underlaid with shell and marl. Often coral and 
bones of the manatee are interspersed in it. But one objection can 
ever be urged to hammock of this character, and that is, that they fre- 
quently lie low, and are adjacent to streams that keep them wet, so that 
drainage is often difficult and always expensive. 



State Government. 



THE powers of the government of the State of Florida, like those 
of the sister States, are divided into the three departments oi 
Legislative, Executive, and Judicial. 
Legislative power, vested in Senate and Assembly, is designated 
the Legislature of the State of Florida. The Legislature meets on the 
first Tuesday after the first Monday in January, every two years, and 
may hold its sessions not longer than sixty days. 

The members of the Assembly are chosen biennially on the first 
Tuesday after the first Monday in November. Senators are chosen 
for the term of four years at the same time and places as members of 
the Assembly, in such way that one-half of the whole number are 
elected biennially. 

The Legislature fixes the ratio of representation, but the Constitu- 
tion provides that each county shall have at least one representative, 
and one additionally for every one thousand registered voters; but no 
county shall have more than four. The Legislature also fixes the 
number of Senators, which, however, under the Constitution, shall 
never be less than one-fourth nor more than one-half of the whole 
number of the Assembly. At present the number of Assemblymen is 
104, and the number of Senators 32. The pay of members of the 
Legislature is a. per diem fixed by law for each day's actual attendance, 
and in addition thereto 10 cents mileage. 

The Executive power is vested in a Governor, who is elected for 
four years. To be eligible, he must have been for nine years a citizen 
of the United States and three years a citizen of Florida. 

A Lieutenant-Governor is elected at the same time and places as 
the Governor, and is President of the Senate, but has only a casting 
vote. He becomes Acting-Governor upon the removal from office by 
death, inability, or resignation of the Governor. 

The Governor has a Cabinet of Administrative officers, consisting 
of Secretary of State, Attorney-General, Comptroller, Treasurer, 
Superintendent of Public Instruction, Adjutant-General, and Com- 
missioner of Lands They are appointed by the Governor and con- 
firmed by the Senate. 

The Judicial powers of the State are vested in a Supreme Court, 
Circuit Courts, County Courts, and Justices of the Peace. 

The Supreme Court consists of the Chief Justice and two Associate 
Justices. They are appointed by the Governor and confirmed by the 



8o State Government. 

Senate, and hold their offices for life or during good behavior. The 
Supreme Court appoints it own Clerk. 

There are, as the Constitution requires, seven Circuit Judges, ap- 
pointed by the Governor and confirmed by the Senate, who hold their 
offices for eight years. 

The Executive appoints a County Judge for each county, who is 
confirmed by the Senate, and holds his office for four years. 

The Governor appoints as many Justices of the Peace as he may 
deem necessary, who hold office for four years, but are subject to re- 
moval by the Governor for reasons satisfactory to him. 

The Governor, by and with the consent of the Senate, appoints in 
each county a Sheriff and Clerk of the Circuit Court, who is also Clerk 
of the County Court and of the Board of County Commissioners, 
Recorder, and ex-offico Auditor of the county. He holds his office for 
four years. 

The Governor appoints, by and with the consent of the Senate, in 
each county an Assessor of Taxes and Collector of Revenue, who hold 
©ffice for two years, subject to removal upon recommendation of the 
Governor and consent of the Senate. 

The Governor appoints in each county a County Treasurer, County 
Surveyor, Superintendent of Common Schools, and five County Com- 
missioners, each of whom shall hold his office for two years, and is 
subject to removal by the Governor when, in his judgment, the public 
good will benefit thereby. 

A Constable may be elected by the registered voters of each county 
• — one Constable for every two hundred voters ; but under the Consti- 
tution every county is entitled to at least two, and no county shall have 
more than twelve. 

The salary of the Governor is $3,500 ; that of the Justices of the 
Supreme Court, each, $3,000 ; that of the several Judges of the Circuit 
Court, $2,500. 

Every male person of the age of 2 1 years, and of whatever race, 
color, nationality, or previous condition, who shall, at the time of offer- 
ing to vote, be a citizen of the United States, or who shall have resid- 
ed or had his habitation, domicile, home, and place of permanent 
abode in Florida for one year, and in the county for six months next 
preceding the election at which he shall offer to vote, shall, in each 
county, be deemed a qualified elector. 

Every elector shall, at the time of his registration, take and sub- 
scribe the following oath : " I, , do' solemnly swear that I 

will support the Constitution and Government -of the United States, 
and Constitution and Government of the State of Florida, against all 
enemies, foreign and domestic ; that I will bear true faith, loyalty, and 
allegiance to the same, any ordinances or resolutions of any State Con- 
vention or Legislature to the contrary notwithstanding. So help me 
God." 

Disfranchisement results from the conviction of bribery, perjury, 
larceny, or other infamous crime, or for being directly or indirectly in- 
terested in any bet or wager, the result of which shall depend upon 



State Government. 81 

any election or for being principal or second in a duel, or shall send 
or accept or be the bearer of a challenge or acceptance to fight a duel. 
The Constitution provides that institutions for the insane, blind, and 
deaf, and such other benevolent institutions as the public good may 
require shall be fostered by the State. 

An asylum for the insane has been founded, where the idiotic are 
also received. This institution is located upon a high hill on the 
eastern side of the Apalachicola River in Gadsden County. A part of 
the buildings erected originally by the United States Government 
for an arsenal, and subsequently turned over to the State, and then 
fitted by erection of new buildings and proper alterations for present 
uses. The inmates are comfortably provided for. The males and 
females of both colors have compartments for themselves, and in 
these their separate rooms. There is connected with the asylum about 
i, 800 acres of land for such uses as the institution may have for it. 

A State Deaf and Dumb and Blind Asylum was chartered by the 
last Legislature. 

The policy adopted by the State of Florida in the care of convicts 
for penal crime is to lease them for terms to contractors, who employ 
them upon railroad construction or in other ways, instead of confining 
them within the walls of a State Prison. 

Experience has demonstrated that the plan of hiring the convicts to 
labor in the open air is both humane and healthful, and more agreeable 
to the prisoners themselves than close confinement. It is, moreover, 
less expensive to the State. They are hired out at present at $15 each 
per annum, with such obligations to provide for their safe keeping as 
are deemed necessary. 

The population of Florida, under the census returns of 1880, was 
269,493. The increase in population in Florida during the decade 
from 1870 to 1880 was something over 30 per cent., and for the years 
1879 an< 3 1880 there was an increase at the rate of 60 per cent. As 
this tide of immigration has been largely increased during the last 
three years, it is fair to estimate that the annual rate of increase in her 
population is now not far from 20 per cent., or that at present it is 
something over 460,000. 

The vote of the State in the general election of 1880 was : Demo- 
cratic, 28,000 ; Republican, 23,000 — total, 51,000. 



The Public Schools of Florida, 



BY H. N. FELKEL. 



THE present educational system of Florida was provided for in the 
Constitution adopted in 1868, and the first schools were put in 
operation under it during the scholastic year of 1869-70. The 
system does not differ essentially from those in operation in the 
States of New England and the West. 

The Superintendent of Public Instruction is the head of the depart- 
ment, and is one of the seven cabinet officers and constitutional advisers 
of the Governor. He is also the President of the Board of Education, 
before whom come all questions of appeal from the counties. Each 
county, under the law, is constituted a school district. The county or 
district school officers are, a County Superintendent, a Board of Public 
Instruction, and local School Trustees. The County Superintendent 
is the Secretary and Executive Officer of the Board. It is his duty to 
visit the schools at least once during each three months when the 
schools are in session, to organize and conduct teachers' institutes, and 
to look after the general welfare of the schools. The Board of Public 
Instruction have the management and disposition of the school finances 
of the county. It is also their duty to locate the schools and to ap- 
point the local trustees. 

The revenue for the support of the schools of the State is derived 
from the following sources : (1) The interest on the Common School 
Fund ; (2) the Constitutional Tax ; (3) County Taxes. The Common 
School Fund is that fund which has accrued from the sales of school 
lands — the sixteenth sections granted by the General Government — 
and from fines and forfeitures. This fund is invested for the most 
part in the bonds of the State of Florida, and gives an annual interest 
of about $18,000. This amount is apportioned, each year, among the 
several counties, on the basis of the school population. The Constitu- 
tional Tax is a tax of one mill on the assessed property valuation of the 
State, and the Superintendent is required to apportion it in the same 
manner and on the same basis as the interest on the Common School 
Fund is apportioned. The County Taxes are provided for by statute. 
They are levied by the County Commissioners, the rate being not 
less than two and a half and not more than four mills. In the wealthier 
and more populous counties, the school revenue, arising from the 
sources named, is ample, and good schools are maintained from six to 
ten months of the year. In others, more sparsely settled, where the 
taxable resources are limited, the revenue has not been sufficient to 
continue the schools for longer than three months of the year, but the 



The Public Schools of Florida. 83 

tide of immigration pouring into the State will, in a short time, so 
swell the property valuation as to give ample funds for all purposes. 

The following statistics are given to show the growth of the public 
schools since 1869 : 

1876 — Total number of schools, 656 ; attendance, 21,000. 
1877 — Total number of schools, 887 ; attendance, 31,133. 
1878 — Total number of schools, 992 ; attendance, 36,961. 
1879 — Total number of schools, 1,050 ; attendance, 37,034. 
1880 — Total number of schools, 1,131 ; attendance, 39,315. 
1882 — Total number of schools, 1,239 ; attendance, 51,945. 

It will be seen, from the foregoing figures, that during the past six 
years the schools of the State have averaged an increase of nearly one 
hundred per annum. . Public sentiment, which, in the beginning, was 
antagonistic or indifferent to the free schools, is now fully alive to the 
importance of this interest, and the progress made in the past may be 
taken as an earnest of what may be expected in the future. 

As to tLj quality of instruction in the public schools of Florida, it 
may be stated that, in this respect, they will compare favorably with 
those of the older States. The high schools and academies in most 
of the towns and villages are provided with competent teachers, many 
of whom were graduated from the leading colleges of the country, so 
that there is scarcely a section of the State where a young man may 
not leave his own county prepared to enter college. 

Among the leading institutions devoted to higher education are 
the East and the West Florida Seminaries, the one located at Gainsville, 
the other at Tallahassee. These schools have an annual endowment 
arising from a fund accruing to the State from what are known as " Semi- 
nary Lands." The institutions are both in a very flourishing condition, 
and each year adds to their influence and efficiency. They are regularly 
chartered, and have authority to grant diplomas and confer degrees. 

One of the great needs of the public schools of Florida has been 
that of better qualified teachers for the smaller country schools. This 
need, however, is now being met by the organization of normal schools, 
and teachers' institutes. The last Legislature appropriated three 
thousand dollars for 1883, and the same amount for 1884, for normal 
instruction, to be applied in connection with four of the leading 
schools of the State- two for white teachers and two for colored. 
The schools have been set to work in the manner indicated by the 
law, and their efforts can but result in giving to the schools more 
thorough and efficient teachers. There was also made an appropria- 
tion of two thousand dollars, to be used in holding teachers' institutes 
in different sections of the State. 

The Florida Agricultural College has never been put in operation ; 
but a site has been selected, the buildings are in course of erection, 
and it is thought that by the first of January', 1884, the college will be 
opened. Lake City, a town of about twelve hundred inhabitants, 
on the Florida Central & Western Railroad, has been selected as the 
future home of the college. 



Traveler s Guide to Florida, 



BY KIRK MUNROE. 



HINTS TO TOURISTS AND INVALIDS. 

IT is no wonder that the traveler contemplating a winter trip to Florida 
becomes confused and undecided as to when, where, and how he shall 
go, and what he shall take with him, as soon as he endeavors to ac- 
quire information from those who have been there and pretend to 
know all about it. Probably no State in the Union is at once subjected to 
such exaggerated praise and unqualified condemnation. From one friend 
he will learn that winters in Florida are invariably warm and dry ; and 
from the next that they are always cold and wet. One will advise him to 
take only summer clothing ; and the other will insist that he will need the 
same warm garments that he would in the North. He will be told that 
outside of Jacksonville he will get nothing fit to eat, and that good 
hotels exist everywhere ; that St. Augustine is the only place in which 
to spend the winter, and that it will be as much as his life is worth to 
face the raw east winds of St. Augustine. The west coast and the 
east coast will be represented in glowing and dismal colors ; the St. 
John's will, in a breath, be pronounced the most glorious river in the 
world, and the most monotonous and uninteresting. He will hear that 
the State is one vast swamp, and that it is nothing but a dry, sandy, 
pine barren, that good lands do not exist ; and that Florida contains 
the finest farming lands in the South. His friend A. will beg of him not 
to visit a country where every breath is malarious, where fevers taint 
every breeze, and where poisonous reptiles and insects infest every 
locality that can be named ; and the next day B. will take his oath that 
he never heard of a case of malaria or fever in Florida that was not 
imported, and that the poisonous reptiles and insects are but the off- 
spring of A.'s too vivid imagination. The climax will be capped when 
he hears that the Floridians hate Northerners with a deadly hatred, and 
make use of every opportunity for insulting them ; and is told directly 
afterward by his neighbor over the way that Floridians are the most 
courteous and hospitable of people, and welcome Northerners with an 
overpowering cordiality. 

Having gathered this various and somewhat contradictory infor- 
mation, the traveler either decides to go somewhere else, or turns 
toward Florida with his mind filled with a confusion of eager antici- 
pation and apprehensive dread, neither of which is destined to be 



Traveler s Guide — Hints to Tourists and Invalids. S 5 

realized. He who goes to Florida prepared to make the best of every- 
thing, and to extract as much pleasure as possible from his trip, will 
enjoy himself and have a good time ; while he who is prepared to find 
fault with whatever fails to meet his anticipations, will be corre- 
spondingly miserable. 

All things taken into consideration, Florida is no better and no worse 
than the other States of the Union, over which she can claim absolute 
superiority in but one thing — her winter climate. This is what makes 
Florida ; it is everything to the State, and so fully do its inhabitants 
realize the fact, that, from the moment the visitor sets foot within her 
borders until he leaves them, he is daily and hourly reminded that this 
wonderful climate was invented and prepared, and is now owned and 
controlled, by the Floridians themselves. The salutation with which 
each and every inhabitant greets the stranger is, " Well, sir, what do you 
think of our climate ?". And woe be unto him if he is not prepared to 
admit, without hesitation, that it is undoubtedly the most wonderful 
climate in this world or any other, and that it reflects great credit upon 
its proprietors. 

After having listened to innumerable panegyrics on the climature, 
and mastered the contents of the various publications on the meteor- 
ography of Florida, the visitor may, in his turn, gradually assume the 
air of climatic proprietorship, and even venture to propound to more 
recent arrivals the invariable meteorological conundrum. 

It has been noticed that this proprietary attitude toward the climate 
is more apt to be assumed by imported than by native Floridians ; and 
that the more recent the importation the more vivid is the impression 
that he is one of the authors and promoters of the grand climato- 
logical scheme. 

On the whole, it is a very good climate, and to the traveler recently 
escaped from the rigors of a Northern winter it is glorious, and he is 
disposed to admit all the excellence that is claimed for it. At the same 
time it is a capricious climate, and subject to sudden changes which he 
must be prepared to encounter. Winter before last was delightfully 
warm and dry in Florida ; but every now and then a cold blast or 
" norther" swept down from the North, and in a few hours the tem- 
perature was lowered twenty or thirty degrees. These northers often 
blow for two or three days, during which time the thermometer registers 
from thirty-five to fifty degrees, and the cold, unexpected and unpre- 
pared for*, is very hard to bear. Last winter, until the 1st of February, 
was cold and rainy ; but occasionally the sun would burst forth, the 
south wind blow, and for a few hours or days at a time the air was that 
of summer. 

In view of these changes, it is not safe to visit Florida in winter 
without being provided with both winter and summer clothing, and 
being prepared to change from one to the other two or three times a 
day if necessary. Light flannels should be worn throughout the season, 
and the traveler who leaves his heavy overcoat, or her warm wrap, 
behind, when setting out for the " Flowery land," will have cause to 
regret them. A heavy overcoat is a necessity on the steamer while en 



86 Traveler s Guide — Hints to Tourists and Invalids. 

route for Florida, it will often be found very comfortable while there, 
and it will form a most important addition to the wardrobe of him who 
returns to the North by sea in the spring. Passengers leaving Savan- 
nah about noon, of a day between the first and the middle of May, fancy 
that they can never feel cool and comfortable again, and that overcoats 
might as well be stowed away in trunks down in the lower hold ; 
but when, a few days afterward, they reach New York or Boston, 
possibly in the small hours of the morning, and find the temperature 
away down almost to the freezing-point, as frequently happens, they 
would give a great deal for the now inaccessible overcoats or heavy 
wraps. It is well therefore always to have these within reach, from the 
time of departure for the South until you return. 

To those travelers who go South in search of health a few words of 
advice may not come amiss. In the first place, do not wait until it is 
too late for any earthly agency to help you before trying the climate of 
Florida. It will not cure the man who stands with one foot already in 
the grave, though it may prolong his days ; but if sought when the first 
symptoms of disease are discovered, it will work miracles. 

In the second place, be sure to stay long enough in Florida. Do 
not imagine that, because summer heats prevail there in April and 
May, it is time for you to return to the North. It will be as much as 
your life is worth to do so before the first of June, and if you can wait 
until the middle of that month, so much the better. 

These are the most important bits of advice and those best worth 
remembering. Go early, and stay late. Other things to be considered 
are, where you shall locate, and how you shall pass your time. When 
you reach Florida, do not stay in the northern part of the State ; go at 
once to Tampa, Manatee, or Palma Sola, on the west coast, Rockledge 
on Indian River, or at least as far south as Sanford or Enterprise on 
the St. John's, and remain in these latitudes through December and 
January. By the first of February you may begin to travel slowly 
northward. If you are on the west coast, find your way to the Ho- 
mosassa River, where there is a good boarding-house ; stay there until 
about the middle of March, and then go still further north.* By all 
means try to spend April and May in Tallahassee. It has first-class 
hotels and boarding-houses, and is situated in the midst of the most 
beautiful hill country of Florida. If the first of February finds the in- 
valid on the eastern coast, or the Upper St. John's, let him stay where 
he is for two or three weeks longer, and then go to New Smyrna or 
Palatka, from there to St. Augustine, Green Cove Springs, or Magnolia, 
He will find excellent boarding-houses and pleasant society at Man- 
darin, fifteen miles above Jacksonville, and, either there or at Jackson- 
ville, Monticello, Tallahassee, Quincy, Marianna, or Pensacola, the 
weather, from the middle of March until the first of May, is delightful. 
By the first of May he should go to Fernandina, or some of the South- 
ern Georgia resorts, and by the middle of the same month it will be 
safe for him to go north as far as Old Point Copfort, in Virginia, where, 
if he spends two weeks more, he will be wise. 

There are many other places in Florida besides those named that 

* Since this was written, the boarding-house on the Homosassa has been 
destroyed by fire. 



Traveler s Guide — Hints to Tourists and Invalids. 87 

would be charming winter resorts for the invalid, if they only possessed 
good hotel or boarding-house accommodations ; but the invalid requires 
so much better food and attention than the ordinary traveler, that 
many hotels, which the latter would consider fairly good, and which 
their proprietors pronounce first-class, would prove very uncomfortable 
to the sick man. At present the strictly first-class hotels of Florida 
are the Egmont, at Fernandina; the Windsor, St. James, Everett, and 
Carleton, at Jacksonville; the Magnolia, at Magnolia; the St. Augustine, 
Magnolia, and Florida, at St. Augustine ; the Putnam and Larkin, at 
Palatka ; the Brock House, at Enterprise ; the Sanford House, at San- 
ford ; the Suwanee, at Suwanee Springs ; and the Leon, at Tallahas- 
see, Pensacola, Gainesville, Ocala, Tampa, Green Cove Springs, and 
Orlando have very good hotels, and in all the places named, as well as 
in many others, good boarding-houses may be found where board can 
be obtained at reasonable rates. 

If the invalid is possessed of sufficient strength, and would reap 
the full benefit of the Floridian climate, let him travel in a buggy, 
light wagon, or on horseback through the vast pine woods and inland 
highlands of the State, visit the lake region of Orange County, the 
Apopka Mountains in Sumter, or the magnificent hammocks and red 
clay hills of Hernando County, hunt cattle with the cow-boys of Mana 
tee and Brevard, or, in other words, spend the winter in the open air 
and engaged in active exercise. If he will do this for three or four 
months, his complete cure is assured. 

Our parting injunction to invalids, and to other travelers as well — 
and it applies to all parts of Florida — is, carefully avoid exposure to 
the heavy night dews, and keep under cover as much as possible be- 
tween sunset and sunrise. 

The pleasantest way, for those who do not dread the sea, to reach 
Florida from New York is by steamer to Fernandina, Key West, 
Savannah, or Charleston. The popularity of the several Florida steam- 
ship lines is owing to their perfect accommodations, which are unsur- 
passed for elegance and solid comfort in the world. The finest steam- 
ships engaged in American coastwise trade are those which C. H. Mal- 
lory & Co. despatch semi-weekly between New York, Key West, Fla., 
and Galveston. Their new steamships, Alamo and Lampasas, are of 3,000 
tons burden each, and are superior, in point of comfortable accom- 
modation and superb interior decoration, to most of the trans-Atlantic 
steamships. The distance from New York to Key West is 1,150 miles, 
and the running time between these ports four days. 

Key West, in itself, is the most tropical, and one of the most in- 
teresting cities in the United States. Its winter climate is perfect; 
frost is unknown, even at night, and the tropical warmth of its days is 
delightfully tempered by steady trade winds. The city contains 
about 10,000 inhabitants, most of whom are engaged in the manufacture 
of cigars, sponging, fishing for the Havana market, or wrecking. It is 
located on an island of coral, of which the highest point is but sixteen 
feet above the sea level. The luxuriant tropical foliage, overhanging 
and embowering the entire city, is a most novel and interesting 



83 Traveler's Guide — Routes and Places. 

feature to the Northern visitor fresh from lands of snow and ice. On 
all sides magnificent cocoa-palms rear their lofty heads and bear 
proudly their crown of fruit in every stage of development. Mingled 
with these are numbers of the more graceful sago and date-palms, 
and clumps of banana-trees. In front of the officers' quarters, in the 
Government barracks — now abandoned as a military post— grows a 
far-spreading banyan-tree, believed to be the only one in this country. 
Everywhere roses, camellias, oleanders, flowering cacti, and an infinite 
variety of gorgeous tropical flowers run riot, until the whole city seems 
a mass of fragrant bloom. The two drives of the island are : to the 
old Salt Works, and to the nearest of the two Martello Towers that 
guard the coast. An interesting walk may be taken to Fort Taylor, that 
commands the entrance to the harbor. 

Although there are several good restaurants in Key West, there is 
but one hotel. 

The newspapers of the city are : The Key West Democrat, The Key 
of the Gulf, and five Spanish papers, all weekly. 

Key West is a delightful place to visit in December, January, or 
February. 

In addition to this line, touching the extreme southern point of 
Florida, and consequently of the United States, the Mallorys run a 
weekly line from Pier 20, East River, New York, to Fernandina, the 
extreme northern port of Florida. The distance to Fernandina from 
New York is 820 miles ; but the steamer, leaving on Friday afternoon, 
does not reach there until the morning of the following Tuesday, as 
it touches at Port Royal, South Carolina, and often remains there 
several hours. 

This break in the voyage is usually highly appreciated by travelers, 
who, at Port Royal, get their first glimpse of real Southern scenery, 
and generally profit by the several hours' stay of the steamer to take 
a long run ashore. The scenery along the river, between its mouth 
and the town, abounds in old plantation houses, moss-hung oaks, 
palmetto-trees, and other objects of novel interest. The old hulk 
anchored in the stream just below the city is the Government supply 
ship, Pawnee. 

Leaving Port Royal late in the afternoon, Fernandina is reached 
during the following morning. Its harbor is the finest on the Atlantic 
coast south of Chesapeake Bay, and in it, during the war of 181 2, when 
Fernandina belonged to Spain, and was consequently a neutral port, 
more than three hundred square-rigged vessels rode at anchor at 
one time. The city was founded by the Spaniards in 1632, and 
is located on Amelia Island, which is especially noted for having 
one of the most magnificent ocean beaches in the world. Fernandina 
is a charming place to spend the months of April and May, and 
offers first class accommodations at the Egmont Hotel, one of the 
best-kept houses in the State, and in numerous boarding-houses. 
From Fernandina, Jacksonville is distant but thirty-three miles by rail. 

The next route to Florida, embracing the longest unbroken sea 
voyage, is that of the Ocean Steamship Company, from New York and 



Traveler s Guide — Routes and Places. 89 

Philadelphia, to Savannah, Ga. The ships of this line — among which 
are the Nacoochee, Chattahoochee, Tallahassee, and City of Augusta, 
of 3,000 tons each — are world-famed for the size and elegance of 
their state-rooms and saloons, and for speed and safety. They leave 
New York two or three times each week, and make the run to Savannah 
inside of sixty hours. 

After leaving Sandy Hook no land is sighted save an occasional 
point of distant blue, marked by some tall light-house, until the mouth 
of the Savannah River is reached, where, if the tide on the bar is low, 
the steamer comes to anchor off Tybee Island. The city of 
Savannah is situated fourteen miles from the mouth of the river, 
of which the yellow current flows sluggishly between vast stretches of 
salt-marsh and rice-fields, dotted with clumps of palmetto-trees. 
On the way up, Forts Pulaski and Jackson, both abandoned, are 
passed on the left. The river forms the boundary-line between 
Georgia and South Carolina. 

The best hotels in Savannah are the Screven and Pulaski 
Houses ; but either of them might be better than it is. A promi- 
nent hotel man of New York and Saratoga has made a liberal offer 
for the erection, in Savannah, of a first-class hotel, and it is prob- 
able that before another season this want will be supplied. 

Savannah is a typical Southern city, and is remarkable for its open 
squares, of which there are twenty-four within its limits, and to which 
numbers of ornamental Southern shade trees lend a peculiar charm. 
Bonaventure, which, with its giant moss-draped live-oaks, is the 
most weirdly beautiful cemetery in the South, can be reached by a 
four miles' drive over a good shell road or by horse-cars. These 
also run to Thunderbolt, a quaint resort a mile beyond Bonaventure. 
A day or two can be pleasantly and profitably spent in Savannah 
by the Southward-bound traveler, and when he is ready to con- 
tinue his journey to Florida, the choice of the routes is open 
to him. 

Express trains to Jacksonville, 166 miles away, are run over the 
"Way Cross "branch of the Savannah, Florida and Western Railway, 
and leave Savannah at 11 o'clock a. m. and 4 and 11 o'clock p. m., 
making the run in six hours. 

The second route from Savannah to Jacksonville is known as the 
"Inside 'or " Sea Island Route," and is traversed by small steamers 
that leave Savannah every afternoon for Fernandina, which place they 
reach during the next forenoon. This route is through the vast salt- 
marshes behind the sea islands that fringe the Georgia coast, and 
finally across the broad expanse of Cumberland Sound, passing Dun- 
genness, once the home of General Nathaniel Greene, just before reach- 
ing Fernandina. 

A weekly line of fine steamships connects Boston and Savannah, the 
voyage being made in about seventy hours. 

A line of steimers is maintained by the Merchants' and Miners 
Transportation Company of Baltimore, between that city and Savannah. 

Still another Southern line from New York is that of the New York 



9 o Traveler s Guide — Routes and Places. 

and Charleston Steamship Company, which connects at the latter' city 
with the Savannah, Florida and Western Railway for Jacksonville, 281 
miles distant. 

The all-rail routes from the North and West to Florida are by the 
Atlantic coast lines direct to Jacksonville, or by Western and Southern 
lines to Pensacola and thence to Jacksonville. By the former route 
the traveler passes through Richmond, Petersburg, Weldon, Goldsborc, 
Wilmington, Florence, Charleston, and Savannah ; over this route the 
schedule time between New York and Jacksonville is forty-five hours ; 
and, by the fast mail trains, papers published in New York one morn- 
ing are delivered in Jacksonville during the evening of the next day. 

Jacksonville is the central point of arrival and departure for all 
Florida tourists. It is a busy city. Northern in its characteristics and 
business elements, but Southern in its climate and the foliage of its 
streets and gardens. It is well supplied with hotels of various grades, 
charging from $2 to $5 per day, and numerous boarding-houses, in 
which the average charge is $8 per week. Leaving Jacksonville in the 
morning and returning at night, pleasant excursions may be made to 
Pilot Town, or Mayport, at the mouth of the St. John's River, 25 miles 
distant ; to St. Augustine, by the Jacksonville, St. Augustine and Halifax 
River R. R., 35 miles ; to Mandarin, at which place Mrs. Harriet 
Beecher Stowe spends her winters, 15 miles ; up the St John's River 
to Magnolia or Green Cove Springs, 30 miles ; up the river to Tocoi, 49 
miles by steamer ; thence to St. Augustine, 18 miles by cars of the St. 
John's River R.R., and back to Jacksonville by the J., St. A. & H.R. R.R.; 
or to Palatka, by the Fast Mail Line of steamers, 75 miles up the St. 
John's and return. 

From Jacksonville the fine steamers of the DeBary-Baya, People's 
and Independent lines run up the St. John's to Sanford and Enter- 
prise, 204 miles; and a weekly line furnishes an outside service to 
St. Augustine and the Indian River. By rail the tourist may travel 
from this central point north to Fernandina or Savannah, west to 
Tallahassee or Pensacola by the Florida Central and Western R. R., 
south-west to Cedar Keys, Gainesville, or Ocala by the Transit and Pen- 
insular R. R's, due south to Palatka by the Jacksonville, Tampa and 
Key West R. R., or east to St. Augustine. 

Palatka, 75 miles from Jacksonville, is a city of 2,000 inhabitants, 
and the point of departure for the Ocklawaha River, and is a busy 
place, containing several first-class hotels, the best known being the 
Putnam House. It is well to spend the night here, as the Ocklawaha 
boats leave at 9 a. m. The hours of an afternoon may be pleasantly 
passed in visiting Col. Hart's fine orange grove across the river, in 
taking a walk along the river bank, or in some of the curiosity stores 
for which Palatka is especially noted. 

The Southern Florida Railway, running to Silver Spring, Ocala, and 
Gainesville, has its eastern terminus at Palatka. 

■ The tourist, intending to make the Ocklawaha trip the next day, 
should retire early and secure a good night's rest before starting, for 
he will want to spend the greater part of the following night on the 



Traveler s Guide — Routes end Places. 91 

deck of the steamer, watching the weird shadows and reflections 
cast by the flaring fire of pitch-pine by which the river will be 
illuminated. 

If the funny little Okahumkee or Osceola leaves Palatka at 9 o'clock, 
it will be about noon before she reaches Welaka, 25 miles further up the 
St. John's River, and prepares to enter the Ocklawaha, which flows 
into the larger stream nearly opposite Welaka. The scenery of the 
Ocklawaha is indescribable, and must be viewed to be appreciated. 
From the banks fly many queer birds, including the limpkin and 
funny little purple galinule ; and here, if he has not met him before, 
the traveler will be introduced to Mr. Alligator in his own home. 
About supper-time the down-river boat will be passed, and soon after- 
ward the ruddy glare of a lightwood fire will stream out from the iron 
cage on top of the pilot-house and light up the black waters and mys 
terious forest aisles. 

The meals on these Ocklawaha River boats are capital and the 
sleeping accommodations very good. 

As the first light of the next morning is stealing over the forest, the 
boat will leave the muddy waters of the Ocklawaha and begin to stem 
the swift-flowing crystal stream of the " Run," the outlet of Silver 
Spring, nine miles further on. 

After an hour or two at the Spring, the traveler, if he has had 
enough of the Ocklawaha, may return to Palatka by train, reaching 
there in time for dinner and the afternoon boat for Jacksonville. He 
may, if he wishes, return by the boat on which he has come and 
reach Palatka about midnight; or he may take another Ocklawaha River 
boat and travel a hundred miles further up that curious stream into the 
famous Lake Region, from which he may regain the St. John's River at 
Astor, by the Astor and Lake Eustis R. R., which he will strike at 
Fort Mason ; or he may at Leesburg take a branch of the Transit and 
Peninsular R. R. for Ocala, Waldo, and Jacksonville 

Sanford is about twelve hours' sail up the St. John's from Palatka, 
and is the head of the lower river navigation. It is situated on the 
south side of Lake Monroe, and is a rapidly growing city of some 
1,500 inhabitants. The best hotel is the Sanford House. 

From Sanford the trains of the South Florida (narrow gauge) Rail- 
road run to Orlando, the county-seat of Orange County, twenty 
miles, and to Kissimmee City, forty miles. It is probable that during 
the present winter this road will be opened to Tampa. 

From Kissimmee City a wonderful new tourist route has just been 
opened across Lake Tahopekaliga, down the Kissimmee River to 
Lake Okeechobee, across that deserted and almost unknown lake to 
the head of the Caloosahatchie River, and down that stream to Punta 
Rassa on the Gulf, where steamer may be taken down the coast to Key 
West, and thence to Cuba, or up the coast to Tampa or Cedar Keys. 
The Kissimmee River is the most crooked stream in the world, being 
even more so than the sinuous Ocklawaha, and is full of novel in- 
terest. Huge alligators swarm along its banks, and bright-plumaged 
birds fly in clouds from its edges. The country through which it winds 



92 Traveler s Guide — Routes and Places. 

is a flat and monotonous prairie, dotted here and there with clumps of 
cabbage- palms or small forests of pine. 

At Fort Gardiner, Hammock, about 30 miles below Kissimmee 
City, lives Tom Tiger's band of Seminole Indians, the most northerly 
band in Florida. This was the extreme southern point reached by 
President Arthur in his Florida trip last winter. 

The most important point on the river is Fort Bassinger, 60 miles 
by the river from Lake Okeechobee, but only 20 by land. There are 
no traces of a fort to be seen here ; but John Pierce, a large cattle 
owner, lives here in an unpretentious log house, and keeps a store in 
another. He and his boys also run a ferry across the river at this point 
to a settlement on the other side, bearing the euphonious name of 
"Shake Rag." Five miles below Fort Bassinger lives Tom Daughtry, 
the last settler on the river. Below this no signs of human habitation 
will be seen until Lake Okeechobee has been reached and crossed, and 
the Caloosahatchie has been descended as far as Fort Thompson 

None of the so-called forts in this country is so in reality, but only 
in name, they being the sites of old army camps that existed during 
the Seminole War. 

In going down the Caloosahatchie River, the most important place is 
Fort Meyers, a town of several hundred inhabitants, about 20 miles 
from the mouth of the river. Here is a grove of cocoa-palms in full 
bearing. 

Enterprise is a small village, 11 miles from Sanford, on the oppo- 
site of Lake Monroe, and 204 miles from Jacksonville. There is a good 
hotel here, and it has for years been a favorite winter resort. 

The Indian River may be reached by stage from Enterprise to New 
Smyrna, 20 miles, by steamer from Palatka to Crescent City, 25 miles, and 
thence by stage to Daytona, by steamer up the Upper St. John's from 
Sanford to Lake Harney, and thence by rail to Titusville, or by pro- 
peller Greenwich from Jacksonville to New Smyrna by sea. It is prob- 
able that a small steamer will ply on the Indian River from New Smyrna 
south to the Narrows this winter. 

The western and southwestern portions of the State are best reached 
from Fernandina or Jacksonville. From Fernandina the Transit and 
Peninsular Railroad runs diagonally across the State to Cedar Keys, 
on the Gulf coast, passing through the flourishing city of Gainesville. 
At Waldo the Peninsular branch begins a bee-line down the backbone 
of the peninsula, through fertile Marion County to Ocala, the county- 
seat and the centre of a thriving and ever-increasing business. The 
road continues to Wildwood, its present terminus, whence it is being 
built to Tampa. 

From Cedar Keys, the western terminus of the Transit system, sea- 
going steamers sail for Tampa and Key West ; and small boats ply 
regularly down the coast to Crystal River, Bayport, Anclote, Clear- 
water Harbor, and Sarasota, and up the coast to the Suwanee River, 
which they ascend to New Branford. 

The beautiful hill country of Middle Florida is reached from Jack- 
sonville by the Florida Central and Western Railway, and from Pen- 



Traveler s Guide — Routes and Places. 93 

sacola, at the other extreme of the State, by the Pensacola and Atlantic 
Railway. These two roads connect at Chattahoochee midway across 
the State to form a through line from east to west. 

Leaving Jacksonville about 8 o'clock in the evening, by the F. C. & W. 
R., the traveler soon retires to his comfortable sleeping-berth, wearied 
of the monotony of the pine barrens through which he is riding. As 
he sleeps he passes through Baldwin, Olustee (where a great battle was 
fought in 1864), Lake City, Live Oak, whence a branch of the Savannah, 
Florida and Western Railway runs to New Branford, the head of steam- 
boat navigation on the Suwanee River, Ellaville, where the Suwanee 
River is crossed, and where the song of " Old Folks at Home" was 
written, Madison, and Drifton Jc, or Monticello Station, connected 
by a branch road with the beautiful, old-fashioned city of Monticello, 
four miles away. Now it is time to leave his berth and look out for 
Tallahassee 

The train is running through a rich hill country, dotted with lakes 
and groves of oak and magnolia, and at the first view of Tallahassee, 
crowning a hill-top and bathed in sunlight, it is hard to realize that 
this is still Florida. 

The Leon Hotel in Tallahassee is a well-kept, first-class house, built 
only last year. Besides this and several other hotels, the city is well 
supplied with comfortable boarding-houses. The fine red-clay roads 
of this section of country offer many attractive drives ; among the 
pleasantest of which are those to Lake Jackson, five miles, a body of 
water 17 miles long ; to Wakulla Spring, 16 miles, one of the most 
famous springs in Florida ; to Thomasville,Ga.,35 miles ; to the Bubbling 
Spring, on the old Branch Place ; and to the Natural Bridge, across the 
St. Mark's River, 20 miles. Here was fought one of the two battles of 
the Civil War contested on Florida soil. St. Mark's, the old seaport 
of Middle Florida, is connected with Tallahassee by a 21 -mile railroad. 
Near St. Mark's is Newport, once a flourishing place, but now nearly 
deserted, where are some fine sulphur springs. 

From Tallahassee westward, touching at Quincy on the way, the 
railroad runs through the same fine hill country to Chattahoochee, its 
terminus on the Apalachicola River. Here is located the State Insane 
Asylum. The F. C. & W. R. connects here with the Pensacola and 
Atlantic Railroad, which runs due west 170 miles, through a fine, but as 
yet little developed country, to Pensacola. Connection is also made at 
Chattahoochee with the Climax Branch of the Savannah and Florida 
and Western Railway. 

Pensacola is a city of about 6,000 inhabitants, situated on Pensa- 
cola Bay, ten miles from the Gulf of Mexico. It is noted as being the 
principal lumber shipping port in the South, and in its harbor ride 
vessels of all nations. The City Hotel is the principal one, and the 
objects of greatest interest near the city are the Navy Yard, and the 
remains, still to be traced, of the old Spanish forts, San Miguel and 
San Bernard. 



Hints to Sportsmen, 



BY "AL FRESCO. 



HUNTING. 



IF we take into consideration its accessibility, facilities for reaching 
various points, cheapness of traveling, abundance of game and 
fish in various localities, and unequaled climatic conditions, 

Florida as a hunting-ground cannot be excelled by any portion of the 
United States or Canada. Sporting in Florida has been misrepresented 
through the ignorance and stupidity of soi-disant sportsmen who an- 
nually visit the State. They first appear in Jacksonville, clothed in sport- 
ing suits, are supplied with that piscatorial abortion, a "trunk rod," 
and a breech-loading gun or rifle ; and they create a sensation wher- 
ever they appear. Steamboat and railroad runners " mark them down" 
as legitimate game, and stuff them as full as a Thanksgiving turkey. 
They are sold excursion tickets to points where quail are so plentiful 
that they can be "shipped to New York and made to pay all expenses;" 
to lakes "black with ducks;" to sections where "the water is alive 
with fish ;" and to points where "turkeys gobble fi^m every bush ;" 
and "where 'gators can be bagged by hundreds." These quasi sports- 
men visit Waldo, Palatka, Sandford, Ocala, Enterprise, and St. Augus- 
tine, reap disappointment, have an acute attack of cacoethes scribendi, and 
on their return grossly misrepresent the sporting resources of the State. 
They are so verdant as to suppose that game can exist in quantity in 
cities, towns, and villages, and that fish can be caught in street gutters 
and mud-holes. These silly sportsmen forget that for eighteen years 
thousands of their ilk have been traveling over the railroads and rivers of 
Eastern Florida, and have shot and destroyed almost every living thing. 
In Florida, as everywhere else, sportsmen must abandon main lines of 
travel and thickly settled neighborhoods, and visit sections to which 
" pot hunters" and " fish hogs" have not found their way. 

Jacksonville is, par excellence, the objective and distributing point 
of the State, and I shall offer no apology for referring to it as a start- 
ing-point. In the creeks emptying into the St. John's River, a few miles 
from its mouth, fair duck-shooting can be secured. There is daily 
steamboat communication with Mayport, at the mouth of the. river 

94 



Hints to Sportsmen — Hunting. 95 

where boats can be hired and comfortable quarters may be obtained. 
From about the middle of November to the last of December ducks 
exist in immense quantities in the St. John's River, at points from seven 
to twelve miles below Jacksonville. 

A railroad has been recently completed from Jacksonville to St. 
Augustine. En route to the latter city, the sportsman will leave Diego 
Plains, where good quail and snipe shooting will be found, to his left. 
By securing the services of one of the old hunters who kill game for the 
St. Augustine market, the sportsman may be given a shot at a deer. At 
the head of the Matanzas River, south of St. Augustine, good duck and 
snipe shooting are to be had. A company is now engaged in cutting a 
canal from the head of the Matanzas River to the head of the Halifax 
River. When completed it will furnish a boat route from St. Augustine 
to the head of the Mosquito Lagoon, and by way of the Haulover to the 
head of the Indian River. On the Halifax River and Mosquito Lagoon, 
ducks, snipe, and curlew will be found in quantity. From Jacksonville, 
sportsmen can reach New Smyrna, on the Halifax River, by the pro- 
peller Greenwich, which makes two trips each week. 

Steamboats leave Jacksonville daily for Enterprise and Sanford, 
and connect with boats for Lake Poinsett, the head of navigation on 
the St. John's, and a drive of three miles from Lake Poinsett will land 
them at Rock Ledge, on the Indian River. At Sand Point or Rock 
Ledge, boats and boatmen can be hired for a trip to the lower end of 
Indian River. By ascending any of the tributary streams of this river, 
deer may be found in sufficient numbers to justify the expenditure of 
time and money. Within a few years they have diminished in numbers 
in the territory west of the Indian River ; for the Indians have hunted 
them for their pelts, numbers of Northern and Western sportsmen 
have visited the section each winter, and as a consequence they have 
been thinned out and rendered wild. On the peninsula, between 
Indian River and the Atlantic, bear are common. They visit the ocean 
beach at night to pick up anything edible the water has deposited. 
If the sportsman is anxious to cultivate the acquaintance of a bear, 
let him envelop himself in a sheet and walk to windward. Owing 
to the whiteness of the beach, bruin will be visible at a long distance ; 
but the disguise of the hunter will prevent the animal from noticing 
his approach. 

By taking an outside boat trip from Indian River Inlet to Lake 
Worth, good hunting can be secured, and an almost unknown wilder- 
ness found extending from Lake Worth to Lake Okeechobee. In the 
section referred to, plenty of deer and an occasional bear and panther 
will be found, and the sportsman will be rewarded for his exertion's. 
South of Bay Biscayne is the old Indian Hunting-ground, where 
superior hunting still exists. But, if reports are true, sportsmen 
mast keep a " weather eye " open, or they will be subjected to a coat of 
saliva, and introduced to the buccal development of a python, which 
some of the Indians assert inhabits this section, and is much dreaded 
by them. Barnum should send his employees to the section with 
orders to capture the reported monster. They might not secure a sea 



g6 Hints to Sportsmen — Hunting. 

serpent, but they might capture the great Eunietes marinus, which is 
reported to inhabit the Indian Hunting-ground. At one time the Keys 
were well supplied with deer, but wreckers and others have destroyed 
them. At Cape Sable, deer can still be found. At North Cape Sable, 
Shark River enters the Gulf. Along the margin of this stream purs- 
lain (portulacca) grows in abundance, and, at night, deer feed upon it. 
By using a fire-light or " jack," and quietly paddling near the shore, no 
difficulty will be experienced in supplying the larder with venison. 

Leaving Jacksonville by the Way Cross Railroad, the adventurous 
sportsman will find a section worthy of notice — the great Okefinokee 
Swamp in Southeast Georgia and North Florida. Various attempts 
have been made to explore it in a thorough manner, but with only par- 
tial success. If the autumnal rains have been sufficient, it can be 
crossed in flat-bottomed boats from points near the railroad. The 
Swamp contains a number of creeks, ponds, lakes, and islands. During 
the winter, ducks and snipe exist in countless numbers, and on the 
islands deer and bear are common. Well-developed rattlers are plen- 
tiful during the summer on the islands, and an occasional one may be 
found in winter. Fish are more than plentiful in the streams, lagoons, 
and ponds. The fly fisherman or the hand-liner, with a spoon or 
spinner, will find ample employment. If desired, the sportsman can 
leave the swamp by the head of the Suwanee River, descend this stream 
to the crossing of the Savannah, Florida and Western Railroad, and take 
train at this point, or he can continue to descend the stream to the 
Gulf. 

In the western portion of the State, west of the Suwanee and east 
of the Chattahoochee Rivers, the country is, as a rule, high and rolling. 
In ante-bellum times large corn and cotton fields existed, but they 
have been " turned out," abandoned as regards cultivation, and have 
grown up with bushes and sedge-grass ; and in these old fields quail do 
most congregate. At many points, if the autumn has not been very 
dry, the sportsman will experience no difficulty in securing a bag. It is 
probable that no portion of the Union offers greater inducements to the 
wing shot than the section between Madison and Quincy. The only 
drawback to sport is the absence of the usual autumnal rains. When 
this is the case, birds seek spring heads and damp places, where they 
are difficult to flush on account of the density of the undergrowth. In 
the section referred to there are many beautiful lakes and ponds,where 
duck can be shot in quantity, in many of the marshes and around some 
of the lakes excellent snipe shooting exists, and at certain points a 
few woodcock will be found. I have not visited that portion of the 
State west of the Chattahoochee River, but from information obtained 
from reliable parties, I believe that at certain points fair deer and 
turkey shooting will be found. Since the railroad has been completed 
from Jacksonville to Pensacola the western portion of the State can be 
reached in about twenty-one hours. 

An almost unknown and untrodden sporting-ground exists on the 
Gulf coast between the Suwanee River and St. Mark's. The coast line 
is a shoal, grassy flat, without undertow, breakers, or rollers, and can 



Hints to Sportsmen — Hunting. 97 

be safely navigated in a small boat. For miles adjoining the coast, set- 
tlements do not exist, and deer and turkeys are plentiful. The small 
rivers emptying into the Gulf can be ascended and excellent camping- 
grounds found, near which good sport can be had. In addition to 
game, the rivers teem with sheephead, channel bass, cavallii, sea trout, 
and black bass, and in a few minutes the frying-pan can be supplied 
with fish. This section can be reached from Jacksonville by the Flori- 
da Central and Western, and Transit Railroads to Cedar Keys, or by 
the Way Cross line to Way Cross ; thence via the S., F. and W. R. R. to 
New Brand ford, and from the latter place by steamboat, to the mouth 
of the Suwanee River or Cedar Keys. The section referred to is well 
worthy of notice, for pot hunters, fish hogs, and the owners of trunk 
rods have not visited it. During the winter months ducks exist in 
countless numbers, and the expert can bring to bag " honk honkers." 
If sportsmen are not provided with boats, their wants will be supplied 
by Mr. Mitchell, of the firm of Mitchell & Anderson, Cedar Keys, 
who also keep a supply of groceries and creature comforts, and will 
use every effort to accommodate sportsmen. 

Among the islands, between Cedar Keys and the mouth of the 
Suwanee River, excellent duck, snipe, and curlew shooting will be 
found, and, if the sportsman is accustomed to the business, he can bag 
wild geese. On many of the streams between Cedar Keys and Tampa 
Bay fair duck shooting can be secured. When I entered the Homo- 
sassa River, in 1875, many portions of it were literally black with ducks; 
others followed in my tracks, and for years ducks had no rest, so that 
at present it is difficult to secure a bag. Near the head of the Homo- 
sassa deer and turkey abound. Between Clear Water Harbor and the 
northerly end of Tampa Bay there will be found a narrow and shallow 
channel, known as Indian Pass. Southeast of this Pass, and to the 
northeast of the stream, is a broad mud flat, where snipe, curlew, and 
duck can be shot in sufficient numbers to gratify the most ardent 
sportsman. On the islands and mainland bordering Sarasota Bay but 
little game will be found. Leaving Sarasota Bay by Little Sarasota or 
Casey's Pass, Kettle Harbor will be sighted, and a safe harbor may be 
made. If desired, Charlotte Harbor can be reached by an inside pas- 
sage leading from Kettle Harbor, or by the outside route to Little 
Gasparilla Pass. Having been informed that the inside passage is 
badly obstructed by mud flats, I never attempted its navigation, but 
selected the Gulf for my route. In 1875 I found deer very plentiful on 
the islands of Charlotte Harbor, but, with the exception of Pine and 
Sanibel Islands, they are at present few and far between. On the main- 
land north of Pine Island fair deer and turkey shooting can be ob- 
tained. This harbor is the paradise of the snipe and curlew shooter, 
for at times some of the mud flats and oyster bars are literally covered 
with birds. On some of the islands, notably Little Gasparilla, rac- 
coons are very plentiful, and during a moonlight night, along the bay 
side of the island, they can be seen in great numbers. On more than 
one occasion I have killed them in daylight when feeding on the coon 
oyster-beds. In cruising among the islands in Charlotte Harbor, fresh 



gS Hints to Sportsmen — Fishing. 

water is an important item, and a few hints in regard to it may not be 
amiss. A depression exists in the centre of Little Gasparilla Island, 
where potable water will be found. At the fish ranch, on the northerly 
end of La Costa Island, is a fresh water well. On the westerly side of 
Pine Island, near the large shell mound, and at the easterly side of 
Usisipi Island, at the foot of the shell mound, wells exist, from which a 
supply of excellent water may be secured. It is not generally known, 
but good water can be secured on most of the islands if a shallow hole 
is dug in a low place. No sportsman should take a boat trip on this 
coast without a shovel. 

At Bird Key, near the island of Usisipi, a large rookery exists, 
where immense numbers of sea birds roost at night — a point where the 
taxidermist can obtain any quantity of specimens. Sanibel Island is 
situated at the southerly end of the bay, and two years since it was 
well supplied with deer. In its bayous and extensive marshes on the 
bay side, ducks, curlews, and snipe can be bagged in quantity. Char- 
lotte Harbor presents many attractions to the gunner as well as the pis- 
cator. Superior oysters can be found at Masteehet and in the bayous of 
Sanibel, and large, tender, and delicious clams can be obtained at many 
points. The water in the bay is warm and delightful for sea bathing. 
Sanibel,- at its southerly end, affords an excellent camping-ground, and, 
if home comforts are desired, Jake Sumerlin, at Punta Rassa, will do 
his best to make it pleasant for visitors. 

By ascending the Caloosahatchie River, unsettled points will be 
found, where deer and turkey exist in sufficient numbers to warrant 
the expenditure of time and money in reaching them. My experience 
is, that ducks are very wild on this stream, and difficult to shoot. 

Leaving Charlotte Harbor and continuing down the coast, Estero 
Bay is entered by Bowditch's Pass. Here the sportsman will find him- 
self in a large and beautiful sheet of water, studded with islands, on 
many of which deer, duck, snipe, and curlew will be found in plenty. 
The sportsman should ascend Corkscrew River, a stream emptying 
into Estero Bay. On the banks of the stream he will find an almost 
untrodden field, where deer and turkey exist in great numbers, and a 
locality that has not been haunted by Indians or whites. South of 
-Estero Bay excellent hunting and shooting will be found; but in visiting 
this section, the sportsman must cut loose from civilization and its 
adjuncts. 

A railroad has been completed from Sanford to Kissimmee City, 
and this winter a line of steamers will be run down the Kissimmee 
River to Lake Okeechobee, opening up a new and hitherto almost 
unknown field to sportsmen. On the river, ducks are plentiful, and, at 
many points, deer will be found. By ascending Istokpoga Creek, 
Lake Istokpoga can be entered, and around it will be found a 
sporting locality worthy of a visit. 

FISHING. 

Fishing in Florida is truly worthy of the notice of the disciples of 
old Izaak. I have fished in many places in the United States and in 



Hints to Sportsmen — Fishing. 99 

other lands, and, in my opinion, no place in the Union can equal 
Florida for piscatorial sports. I admit that many visit' the State and 
leave it disappointed ; this is simply because they are captured by 
steamboat and hotel runners, and are induced to visit localities where 
thousands have preceded them, and captured everything covered with 
scales. 

If the piscator desires to enjoy the comforts of first-class hotels and 
amusements of various kinds, he can remain in Jacksonville ; for in 
the streams emptying into the St. John's River, near the city, he will 
find fair fishing with the fly, live bait, or spinner. My friend, Mr. Fos- 
ter, of the St. Mark's Hotel, indulges in an occasional fish during the 
winter, and frequently returns with from fifteen to thirty pounds of 
bass and pickerel. At Jones' boat-yard, a good boat and boatman can 
be hired, and the best, fishing points visited. If the piscator simply 
desires fishing from the docks or in mid-stream, he can fasten to catfish, 
ranging from one to thirty pounds ; and I can assure the uninitiated 
that, with rod and reel, a fifteen-pound "catty" will furnish consider- 
able sport. Mayport, a fishing village at the mouth of the river, can 
be reached daily by a comfortable steamer. If the weather is warm, 
fair sheepheading and good sea-trout fishing at the jetties near May- 
port, and on the oyster-bank in front of Pilot Town, can be indulged in. 
At the hotel here the fisherman will find a good room and bed and 
a fair table at a cost of from $1.50 to $2.00 per day. But the great 
fishing attraction of Northern Florida is the red snapper. From nine to 
twelve miles from the coast there exist patches of a rocky bottom, known 
as "banks." The banks are amply supplied with the gorgeously 
colored red snapper, weighing from twelve to thirty pounds. During 
a " snapper fish " there are frequently caught from three to six grouper 
weighing from fifteen to forty-five pounds. In addition, the banks are 
literally alive with sea bass, porgies, and other small fry, the latter 
affording capital sport for rod and reel. When the wind is from the 
west, even those who are usually the victims of vial de vier may 
safely visit the banks without contributing their mite to old Neptune. 
In Jacksonville there are two ocean tugs, one of them being the Set A 
Low, well known in New York harbor. The charter of the Low is 
$75 per day, and she can comfortably accommodate forty fishermen. 
I frequently indulge in snapper fishing, and would advise visitors to 
Florida to try it. 

At St. Augustine, fair sheepheading, and whiting fishing, can at 
times be secured, and occasionally channel bass and drum can be 
caught in the surf. At Matanzas Inlet, south of St. Augustine, fair, 
and, at times, excellent fishing can be had. . At New Smyrna, on the 
eastern coast, the winter resort of that genial gentleman and expert 
fisher, "S. C. C," much amusement is in store for the piscator. 
Sheephead, channel bass, and cavallii are plentiful, and, if variety is a 
desideratum, sea trout, skate, sea bass, croaker yellow tail, shark, and 
tarpon fishing can be indulged in. 

At Indian River Inlet, fishing is all the most ardent fisherman can 
desire. Fish exist in immense quantities and in endless variety. Dr. 



100 Hints to Sportsmen — Fishing. 

M., of St. Louis, visited me several years since, and requested me to 
aid him in the purchase of a suitable outfit for Indian River fishing. 
On his return the Doctor stated that I had "made a fool of him," and 
suggested that I should recommend the next applicant to provide him- 
self '' with a five-tined pitchfork, for, with such a fishing-rod, he could 
fill a boat in a few minutes at the Inlet." My friend Q., late Secretary 
of State of Pennsylvania, visited Indian River Inlet in the early part 
of 1882. I requested him to ascertain how many sheephead he could 
capture within one hour. On his return he informed me that, with the 
aid of his fisherman to bait hooks and unhook fish, he landed fifty- 
three in one hour. The tributaries of the lower Indian River are 
stocked with large-mouthed and channel bass, and very large cavallii ; 
and the rod or hand-line fisherman can amuse himself until he is forced 
to cease landing fish from sheer exhaustion. At the outlet of Lake 
Worth, a few miles south of Indian River Inlet, the fisherman will 
become satiated with sport. 

In some of the tributaries of the upper St John's River, fair bass, 
bream, and pickerel fishing will be found. In Lake Harney, above 
Enterprise, an industrious fisher may land from twenty to forty large- 
mouthed bass in a day. In the channels, lakes, and tributaries of the 
St. John's, above Lake Harney, anglers will tire of landing bass The 
Kissimmee River is noted for its bass fishing ; but, owing to their lack 
of fight and resistance, such fishing has no charm for the writer. I 
have not referred to the streams of West Florida, for, until recently, 
that section has not been accessible ; but I have reason to believe that 
the fishing in them is excellent. 

On the southwest coast of Florida, south and east of Cedar Keys, 
excellent fishing will be found at many points. In 1875 I visited 
Homosassa, and published the results of my observations in the Forest 
and Stream. Since then hundreds have visited the locality, and have 
been so loud in their praises of it, that I shall refrain from repeating the 
threadbare story. The inhabitants along the entire coast claim that 
fishing is excellent in their neighborhoods ; but, in my opinion, the 
statements are " fishy," until Long Boat Inlet, Sarasota Bay, is reached, 
and at which point the fisherman can obtain good sport. In Billy Bow- 
legs' Creek, a tributary of the Bay, superior fly fishing for cavallii 
will be found. But at Charlotte Harbor the fisherman will find fish 
worthy of his steel. At little Gasparilla Inlet, if the fisher uses min- 
nows or cut bait, on the young flood, with rod and reel or hand-line, 
he will become tired of landing sea trout, channel bass, cavallii, and 
bone-fish. Inside the inlet, along the shore, in water four to five feet 
deep, sheephead congregate in endless numbers. Fiddlers can be cap- 
tured in quantity on the beach, and, by using them for bait, sheephead 
weighing from one to three pounds can be hooked as fast as the bait 
touches bottom. One morning, at the old dock at Usisipi, I fished 
for a fry for breakfast, and in a few minutes landed nine distinct 
species of fish — among the rest, grouper, sea bass, angel fish, sea trout, 
and sheephead. At any of the inlets of the harbor fish can be cap- 
tured in quantity and in great variety. If a spoon or spinner is used 



. Hints to Sportsmen — Fishing. 101 

for trolling at any of the passes, channel bass can be hooked ad libitum. 
From the pier at Punta Rassa the fisherman can surfeit himself with 
sport. My friend "Q." called on me en route to Punta Rassa, and, as 
he had caught fifty-three sheephead in one hour at Indian River Inlet, 
I requested him to ascertain what could be accomplished at the former 
point. Seated on the pier-head, with the assistance of his fisherman 
to bait lines and unhook fish, he landed fifty-six large sheephead in 
one hour. This feat was witnessed by my friend, Dr. R. J. Levis, of 
Philadelphia, and must not be pronounced a " fish story." To those 
who have been accustomed to fish for sheephead at Barnegat or Little 
Egg Harbor, N. J., such stories may sound "fishy;" but, having 
tried it in Florida, I can assert that the number captured within 
a given period will only depend on the rapidity of baiting, hauling up, 
and unhooking. If the fisherman tires of landing fish weighing from 
three to thirty pounds, he can indulge in the exercise of hauling in 
shark and jew-fish. Shark can be hooked in any number and size, 
and jew-fish sometimes weigh three hundred pounds. If variety is 
desired, parties can ascend the Caloosahatchie to Fort Myers, and 
replenish their stores. Proceeding a few miles further, until the 
islands are left astern, a point will be reached where cavallii and tarpon 
do most congregate. If the fisherman is disposed to tackle a streak 
of greased lightning, and treat himself to an acrobatic performance, 
let him hook a tarpon. At many points these fish are plentiful, and 
measure from four to seven feet in length. It has been my lot to 
hook many varieties of fish, and in many localities ; but, in my humble 
opinion, for running, jumping, and fighting, tarpon are A i. The 
fisherman who captures a tarpon will have something to talk about 
upon his return to the North. The mouths of tarpon are tender and 
hooks tear out. The margins of their jaws are supplied with minute 
teeth, which will cut a thick line. Experience in the capture of tarpon 
has taught me to use a stout cotton line, of 72 threads, and 600 feet 
long, and a snood composed of the strongest piano wire. I make three 
links of the wire, and solder the ends of the same. To each link I firmly 
solder three No. 3 Virginia hooks. To the upper link I attach a piece 
of piano-wire two feet long, and to the proximal end of the wire a 
strong brass swivel. To a great extent tarpon are surface feeders, 
and I attach a suitable float from three to five feet above the hooks. 
For bait I use one-half of a large mullet. Three of the hooks are run 
through the mullet, and, in addition, I use a sail needle and thread, 
and tie the bait to the tackle at several points. A single hook and 
ordinary snoods are useless. Every summer those who fish for channel 
bass in the St. John's River, hook numbers of tarpon, which either tear 
away or cut off the snood. 

For fishing, camping, shooting, and climate, I prefer Charlotte 
Harbor to any point in the State ; and I look forward to the day when 
I can leave Jacksonville in a palace-car and reach my old haunts inside 
of ten hours. My beard is white, my bald pate merely furnishes some 
microscopic down, and the crowfoot wrinkles on my face mark many 
a mile-stone on the way of life ; but I still look forward with bright 



ID2 Hints to Sportsmen — Fishing. % 

anticipations to the hour when I shall use a spinner, cast a fly, and engage 
in another tussle with a. tarpon or a jew-fish. 

Tackle for Florida fishing is an important matter. Down here fish 
have not been educated, and strength of tackle is more important than 
fineness. It matters but little to the fish whether the bait is attached 
to a mist-colored leader or a clothes-line. There are those, who will 
always use fine tackle, but the majority believe in landing fish by 
" Scotch navigation." An unfortunate feature connected with Florida 
fishing is that at some points, as at Indian River Inlet or Punta Rassa, 
when the bait reaches bottom, there is no telling what kind or size of 
fish may appropriate it. When fishing for sea trout or channel bass, it 
is annoying to have a skate, tarpon, or shark appropriate the bait, and 
unceremoniously rob the fisherman of a hundred yards of cuttyhunk 
line. But experience will teach the piscator where and how to fish so 
as, to a great extent, to avoid such misfortune. 

Spinners and spoons can be used for the capture of a great variety 
of fish in Florida waters, more particularly black bass, channel bass, 
sea trout, cavallii, and pickerel. A spoon or spinner specially adapted 
to use in Florida waters has yet to be designed and constructed. 
Northern tackle dealers advertise, "Tackle for Florida Fishing ; " but 
the advertisers have not examined one of their spoons and spinners 
after it has been tugged at and pounded en the bottom of a boat by a , 
cavallii weighing from twelve to fifteen pounds, or a channel bass rang- 
ing from fifteen to thirty-five pounds. It is but seldom that one of the 
fragile baits sold for " Florida fishing " will capture a second fish. I 
believe that a spoon will be constructed adapted to Florida fishing, but 
it is in the womb of the future. 

Shipley & Son, of 503 Commerce Street, Philadelphia, have had 
hooks manufactured to meet the requirements of fishing in this State. 
For the capture of channel bass, drum, and cavallii, I have thoroughly 
tested a hook sold by them, and known as "6750^, extra fine cast steel 
filed-pointed hooks " These hooks are made of the best of steel, 
are admirably finished and tempered, and in no instance have I found 
one of them to break or bend. Last summer, while engaged in bass 
fishing, during the course of one day I hooked and brought to 
gaff in a rapid tide-way six sharks from five to seven feet in length, 
and in no instance did a hook disappoint me. I have, at various times, 
tested many makes and patterns of hooks, but have found none to 
equal the one referred to. A hook that will not bend or break is a 
desideratum ; and for the accommodation of visitors I have induced 
a Jacksonville firm to keep a full line of these hooks. I have reason 
to believe that during the present season an artificial bait manufacturer, 
in the North will construct for Florida fishing a spoon that will stand 
the racket. 

Fishermen visiting Florida should provide themselves with a split 
bamboo or other fly rod, and short, heavy bass rods, cuttyhunk lines, 
bass and lake flies and hackles. Spoons are very useful if they are 
strong and furnished with strong hooks. Ordinary tackle suited to 
ordinary requirements, of good quality, can be purchased here as 



Hints to Sportsmen — Fishing. I0 3 

cheaply as in the North. For trolling with spoon or spinner, a large- 
sized braided cotton line will be found useful, and for tarpon fishing a 
good quality of cable-laid seventy-two strand cotton line, costing forty- 
five cents per pound, will serve an excellent purpose. 

Fishing in Florida cannot be equaled, but the fisherman must of 
necessity visit the points where fish exist. To accomplish this end, a 
suitable boat is a necessity. Boats with boatmen can be obtained at 
Jacksonville, St. Augustine, New Smyrna, Sand Point, Rock Ledge, 
Cedar Keys, Tampa, and Manatee. At Cedar Keys sloops and 
schooners of from four to six tons can be chartered at from five to six 
dollars per day. This will include captain, boy, small boat-stove, bed- 
ding and dishes. These vessels will comfortably accommodate four per- 
sons. If more than two are in the party a second skiff, costing about 
twelve dollars, should be purchased. The cost of provisions will depend 
on the appetites and tastes of the marooners ; but it must be remembered 
that the larder can be supplemented with venison, fish, oysters, and the 
best of clams. The southwest coast of Florida is shoal and protected 
nearly its entire length by islands or reefs, and, as breakers or undertow 
do not exist, it can be safely navigated in a small boat. My first boat 
trip on the coast, lasting sixty-three days, was made in a batteaux 
modeled boat, twenty-one feet long, and seven feet six inches beam. 
Based on experience, I had a cruising boat built by Mr. Chappell, of 
Jacksonville, and I have found her well adapted to the cruising require- 
ments of the State. Her length is sixteen feet, beam six feet, model 
rather full, with good entrance and run ; opening of cock-pit four by five 
feet, depth from deck timbers to floor nineteen inches, cat-rigged, draught 
when loaded, fifteen inches aft. In this boat I carry a two-hole stove ; 
when not in use it is stowed in a box, which furnishes a seat in the 
cock-pit. Three five-gallon water-kegs, two thin mattresses and blankets, 
provisions packed in starch-boxes and stowed well forward ; movable 
camp-chest, in which I stow several days' provisions, cups, saucers, 
knives, forks, milk-can, sugar-dish, etc. There is a capacious locker aft, 
in which I stow boat compass, powder, shot, clothing, and other impedi- 
menta. In the afterpart of the cock-pit I have a permanent seat in which 
I stow fire-wood. On each quarter under deck I have racks ; on one 
side are placed within reach gun and rifle, and on the other fishing-rods. 
By careful stowing I can carry necessary luggage and six weeks' pro- 
visions for two persons. I carry a tent made of ten-ounce duck, and 
when a storm threatens or at night. I anchor, throw tent over boom, 
fasten edges to moulding on each side, place trees under boom aft, and 
haul throat halyards taut. Forward I have aprons, which I tie together 
and fasten to screw-eyes on deck. This gives me a protection 
with six feet of head room between lower part of boom and the cock- 
pit floor. When the time arrives' to indulge in " tired nature's sweet 
restorer," I place water-kegs on stern sheets, stove-box and camp-chest, 
on deck under awning, and thereby obtain ample sleeping-room for 
two persons. I carry a fourteen-foot pushing-pole, lashed to under 
part of boom, and a pair of nine-foot oars. In my hands this boat has 
proved sea-worthy, having made a trip in her from Key West to 



104 Hints to Sportsmen — Fishing. 

Cedar Keys, a portion of the way in a gale. I have found her well 
adapted to the coast. For the many this boat would be too small, and I 
would advise the purchase or building of a boat from twenty to twenty- 
two feet long, provided with a light movable cabin extending well 
aft. A boat of this size will comfortably accommodate two persons, 
and at the end of the cruise she can be sold to advantage. Persons can 
ship boats to Jacksonville by schooner at a low figure, and Peter 
Jones will pay charges and care for them until the arrival of owners. 
If persons wish a boat built in Florida, they can have justice done them 
in Jacksonville. The most important points to be considered in the pur- 
chase or construction of a boat for Florida cruising are light draught, 
ample stowage room, and a large movable cabin. 



The Indian River. 



BY WALLACE R. MOSES. 



INDIAN RIVER, proper, begins about 28 30' of latitude, and for 
the first ten miles of its southward course is paralleled by Mos- 
quito Lagoon, from which it is separated by a narrow strip of land 
from half a mile to three miles in width. Its course is SS.E. and 
NN.W., and it is one of the straightest bodies of water in this country. 
A line stretched from its northern limit to the narrows, a distance of 
seventy-five or eighty miles, would not touch either shore. It varies in 
width from seven-eighths of a mile to seven miles. At Titusville, the 
county seat of Brevard County, is the Bay of Biscay, the largest widen- 
ing of the river, pear-shaped, and about twelve miles long by seven 
wide. At the narrows it is broken for twelve or fifteen miles by low 
mangrove islands, so that the channels for boats are reduced to fifty 
yards or less in width at places ; then for thirty-five or forty miles 
further it resumes its average width of a mile, widening frequently into 
wider bays or coves The water is not as salt as that of the ocean. 
Beginning directly opposite Titusville, Merritt's Island, for thirty-five 
miles, separates Indian River into two parts. The easternmost is 
known as Banana or East Indian River. Banana Creek, twelve miles 
long, unites them on the north. The south end, or "foot," of Merritt's 
Island terminates in a sharp point of coquina rock not over ten feet in 
width. The greatest breadth of the last ten or twelve miles of the 
island is not more than one-fourth of a mile, and the last mile it is re- 
duced to fifty yards. Banana River varies in width from seventy-five 
yards to three or four miles, and is navigable for the boats that sail 
Indian River. Fish teem in its waters. 

From the mouth of the St. Lucie River, south to Jupiter Inlet and 
Lighthouse, the river is much narrower, and is known by the names of 
Jupiter Narrows, Hope Sound, and Jupiter River. 

The St. Lucie is the most important tributary, and is the proposed 
eastern terminus of the Okechobee Land & Drainage Company's 
canal, which, when completed, will give a water-course through Lake 
Okechobee and the Caloosahatchie River to the Gulf of Mexico. 

Means of transportation are at present somewhat meagre, and 
consequently expensive. Fifteen or eighteen lines of railroad have 
been incorporated, to run from various points to the head of the 

105 



106 The Indian River. 

river, but most of them are directed toward Titusville. Each new 
road, as it is incubated (on paper), is to be the one that is sure to be 
built. Some eight or ten years ago these projected roads were firmly 
accepted as established facts, but the building of the first has yet to be 
accomplished. 

For a number of years freight was brought almost wholly by small 
steamers up the St. John's south from Sanford to Salt Lake (connected 
by a creek with the St. John's), then hauled seven miles to Titusville. 
Oranges and other exported produce went by the same tedious route, 
when there was high water in Salt Lake ; at other times to Deep Creek, 
near the north end of Lake Harney, a distance of twenty-five miles, 
and sometimes Enterprise, iorty miles from Titusville, was the depot. 

In the summer of 1880 a lake was discovered in the St. John's 
River prairie, two and a half miles west of Rockledge — a thriving com- 
munity of orange-growers on Indian River ; and after exploration it was 
found to connect by a creek with Lake Poinsett, an expansion of the 
St. John's. A steamboat route was soon established, and gave great 
relief to the whole river populace, and to the Lake Worth country as 
well, for all had been paying extortionate passenger, freight, and haul- 
ing rates by the Salt Lake route. 

During the past winter the Lake Poinsett route was favored by 
semi- weekly .and tri-weekly steamers, and a daily line will be established 
this season. This new route has greatly stimulated the production of 
vegetables and fruit. 

Communication is established between Port Orange and Daytona, 
on the Halifax,and New Smyrna, on the Hillsboro, with Indian River, by 
small sail-boats ; — the semi-weekly mail and freight being carried by 
yachts from these and intervening post-offices to Titusville. 

A small steamer carries the mail twice a week from Titusville to 
Eau Gallie and return, connecting with a semi-weekly yacht to Fort 
Capron or St. Lucie post-office, where connections are made with Lake 
Worth, weekly, by sail-boat. A large express and freight business is 
also conducted by these boats, and many boats do nothing else. An 
attempt is being made to establish a tri-weekly mail service between 
the head of Indian River and Lake Worth. 

The best lands are usually found within a narrow strip, on either 
bank of the river, not averaging more than one mile wide on the west 
side, and less on the east. They consist of high and low hammock, 
with marl, coquina, and sand subsoils, and rolling pine lands. The 
bulk of the inferior land, west from the river, rs flat pine. Some of 
these lands are high enough for cultivation, but have no drainage, and, 
being underlaid with sand pan or hard pan, hold the water. 

The largest body of hammock extends northward from Titusville to 
the head of the river, and, with small breaks here and there, to St. 
Augustine or beyond. The well-known Turnbull Swamp forms a 
portion of it. It has not been developed to any extent, although there 
are some fine groves in it at La Grange. . Other large bodies lie adja- 
cent to the settlements of City Point and Rockledge. There are other 
extensive hammocks at and near Indian River Narrows ; the St. Lucie 



The Indian River. 107 

River and Hope Sound, and isolated hammocks of limited area, may 
be found, improved and otherwise, along the entire length of the 
river. 

The pine lands along the Indian River are thin, and the timber 
small and low. There are some good bodies of land on Merritt's 
Island, that, with fertilizing, are well adapted to the growth of pine- 
apples, and are being thus developed. 

The general characteristics of the high lands are sandy and leachy, 
making it difficult to grow successfully anything but fruits. The low 
hammocks produce excellent crops of vegetables. 

Prices of land vary from five dollars to fifty dollars pef acre, and 
some very choice lots, near settlements, are held as high as two hundred 
dollars per acre. 

There are no vacant desirable State or United States lands imme- 
diately on the river. 

Oranges, lemons, limes, citrons, pineapples, guavas, mangoes, scup- 
pernong and other grapes, corn, sweet and Irish potatoes, and almost 
every kind of vegetables and strawberries are raised along the Indian 
River. Oranges, lemons, pineapples, mangoes, and guavas, only, are 
considered profitable. Many other tropical and semi-tropical fruits can 
undoubtedly be raised ; but as yet they have received but little atten- 
tion. Much of the land is such that, unless trees or plants have good 
tap roots, they suffer for lack of moisture. The pineapple seems to be 
an exception to some extent, though a drought, at certain periods of its 
growth, dwarfs the fruit. 

The Indian River oranges are noted for their superiority, and are 
the chief staple raised. Pineapples are being extensively cultivated, 
and, when of choice variety, they bring remunerative prices. This in- 
dustry bids fair to assume large proportions in the near future. The 
lands and climate on the east side are peculiarly well adapted to their 
growth, and the acreage is being largely extended. Guavas can be 
raised in abundance ; but, owing to their perishable nature, they require 
more rapid transportation to market than now exists. Mangoes are a 
fine fruit, and can be raised profitably wherever the pineapple succeeds, 
and possibly elsewhere. They are rare as yet. 

Game, except where the country is thickly settled, is tolerably 
abundant on the Indian River. Ducks abounded last winter. The 
choice varieties can be found in the marshes from the head of the river 
south on the east side. The marshes opposite Titusville and Aurantia 
have long been celebrated for their duck-shooting, and in them may be 
found teal, mallards, widgeon, blue-bills, red-heads, and occasionally a 
canvas-back. Coot and black, or " raft ducks," can be found by the 
million. The raft duck are so called from their habit of collecting to- 
gether in vast numbers, so that at a mile or so they appear like a raft 
of timber floating on the water. They are seen in flocks covering acres 
in extent. The duck is proverbially a wary game bird, and Indian 
River ducks are no exception to the rule. It is difficult at times to get 
within ordinary gun-shot — 40 to 60 yards — as they usually rise at about 
80 yards from the advancing sail or row boat, settling shortly, to re- 



108 The Indian River. 

peat as before. One can frequently sail for miles amidst a constantly 
recurring whirr of rising ducks. 

Bear can be found in limited quantities at most all seasons of the 
year, and they frequently swim the river at the Narrows. They are very 
fond of turtle eggs, which are laid in June and July, principally, on the 
ocean beach. 

The loggerhead turtle is by no means to be despised as game ; 
they weigh from 300 to 500 pounds, and, if properly dressed, provide 
fair steaks, resembling buffalo meat. The eggs are cooked in various 
ways, of which the most popular is to beat them thoroughly, add pep- 
per, salt, fine-chopped onions, flour, and water ; stir together, and fry. 
This makes a rich and palatable dish. The shell of the egg is flexible, 
and can be bent and indented without breaking. The turtle, after 
starting to lay, is so intent upon her business that nothing of an ordi- 
nary nature disturbs her until she has finished. She chooses a place 
just above high-water mark in which to dig a hole. Using her flippers, 
she scoops out the sand to the depth of eighteen to twenty-four inches, 
and in this nest proceeds to deposit her eggs. It is an easy matter, 
after she has fairly begun laying, to approach and remove the eggs as 
fast as they are dropped, and often a hat or basket is placed in the 
nest so that the eggs may be removed without disturbing her ladyship. 
Green turtle are caught in seines stretched between stakes just inside 
Indian River Inlet in the winter season. They are sent to the North, 
and net the catcher from three to eight cents per pound gross weight. 

Deer can be found in large numbers ; only go where they are. At 
some places they are a pest, particularly those known as field deer. 
No ordinary fence will keep them out, and many are the devices that 
have been tried to trap them. Guns and dogs, separate or combined, 
and a steady warfare, are the surest methods. The Indians are of 
some benefit, as they frequently travel north from the Everglades, kill- 
ing large numbers, and disposing of the hides and meat at the settle- 
ments of St. Lucie, Eau Gallie, Rockledge, City Point, and Titusville. 

City-bred sportsmen may think that South Florida needs a game 
law to protect her deer ; but if they had had two or three successive 
seasons' struggle with them to see which should get the most potatoes, 
when a large part of their living, and that of their stock, depended on 
this crop, as sometimes happens, they would possibly change their 
minds. The old bucks will paw the potato-beds and destroy a large 
number besides what they eat, and, if they have families of four or five 
does and fawns, they can make potatoes very scarce in a short time. 

Wildcat, panther, foxes, squirrels, oppossums, raccoon, turkey, quail, 
curlew, plover, snipe, yellow-legs, and sand-pipers are all to be found 
on the Indian River. Otter have been quite plentiful for a year past, 
and, at the prices quoted for skins, trapping them ought to be a profit- 
able business. 

Line fishing is good at Indian River and Jupiter Inlets ; red snap- 
per, red and black bass, pompano, cavallii, sheepshead, and sailors 
choice are the principal and best fish. Mullet can be found in large 
quantities. They are fattest and best from June to October. They are 



The Indian River. 109 

caught only by seines or cast nets. Sharks and porpoises are numer- 
ous at the inlets, and occasionally a five or six foot shark may be 
found in the river ; but I have never heard of any one being injured 
by them. 

Oysters abound all through Indian River Narrows and south to Fort 
Capron for some twenty or twenty-five miles. They are of large size 
and exquisite flavor when fat, or removed and bedded. They can be 
bought at an average of one dollar per barrel at Titusville and Rock- 
ledge during the winter. 

The accommodations for sportsmen are fairly good. Good hotels 
and boarding-houses can be found at all of the principal settlements, 
though the demand at times exceeds the supply. Good yachts, accom- 
panied by a competent hunter and guide, v. no usually is the skipper 
and owner, can be engaged at fairly reasonable rates. These boats are 
fitted with small cabins, and sometimes with a wood or oil stove. 
The fight kind of a boat will also carry a flat-bottomed skiff for ascend- 
ing shallow creeks and bayous. 

Hotel charges are from $2 to $3 per day, and from $10 to $15 per 
week. Boarding-houses less. 

On the Indian River the cost of living is less than in most sec- 
tions of Florida. There are a number of good stores and some 
very poor ones in the several settlements. Prices range about the 
same as in most Southern villages, and are less in some particulars. 
Rents are nominal ; most residents own their land and buildings. 
Many of the latter are primitive, but answer for the climate. Some 
good houses and stores are being buiit, evidencing an increased pros- 
perity and an influx of ready money from the outside world. Fresh 
meat is scarce, except in winter, at the settlements. Price ranges 
from eight to fifteen cents per pound for beef and venison. 

Not a great deal of money has been spent heretofore in articles of 
dress, but the rapidly-increasing influx of winter visitors is gradually 
causing a more extravagant expenditure in that line. 

During eight months in the year the general verdict seems to be 
that the climate of the Indian River country is as near perfection as 
can be found, and during the remaining four months it is not bad, 
and is much pleasanter than in the interior of many of the Southern or 
even Northern States. 

The mercury at noon-time, during the hottest weather, rarely gets 
above 96 , and no existing record shows it to have gone to ioo p in the 
shade. The usual summer range is from 85° to 95°. These figures 
do not represent here the oppressiveness that the same figures do in- 
land or in places where there is a still heat. On Indian River, and pre- 
sumably on the whole eastern coast of Florida, the winds blow steadily 
from the ocean nearly the whole summer, principally from the south- 
east. Even very hot days, with light, off-shore winds, are generally fol- 
lowed by cool nights, in which that terrible sultriness known to some 
sections is rarely felt. One of the wonderful peculiarities of Florida is 
the rapid radiation and dispersion of heat after nightfall. 

The winter average is about 70 or 75 °-. It goes as low as 32° for 



j I0 The Indian River. 

a few hours nearly every winter on. some portion of the river, and as 
high as 850. Frost is known, but rarely a freeze. One, in 1816, and 
another in 1881, did some damage on the west bank of the river. On 
Merritt's Island and the beach ridge, however, anywhere within 200 
yards of the river, frost rarely occurs. This coast is therefore es- 
pecially adapted to pineapple and other tropical fruit culture. 

The prevailing winds are the southeast trade winds in summer, and 
west, northwest, and north in winter. They blow so regularly that advan- 
tage is frequently taken of the fact by boatmen to regulate their trips up 
and down the river. Occasionally a miscalculation is made, and a man 
finds himself a hundred miles from home with a howling headwind that 
sometimes runs on a nine days' schedule from the northwest. 

Very destructive gales have recurred bi-annually for a number of 
years. The year 1882 was an exception. These gales are in fact hurri- 
canes, and are said to rise in the West Indies. They usually come 
from the eastward, and blow from twelve to seventy-two hours. Trees, 
fences, and houses that are not well anchored or protected by timbers 
are badly demoralized and scattered. 

August, September, and October are the gale months, or, in native 
parlance, the "galey season." October 25th is the latest that one has 
been known to occur. The October gales are usually followed by a 
violent but short-lived return gale from the northwest. 

The experienced resident hauls out his yacht or flat-bottomed boat 
during this season, as no ordinary anchor or rope will hold it. 

It may well be understood and believed that few rivers afford such 
advantages for yachting as does this most fascinating stream. No 
tide nor current interferes with the progress of the boat. This is caused 
by the smallness of the ocean inlets and the narrows between them. 
Everybody living directly on the river owns a craft of some sort, and 
regattas on fixed dates are favorite diversions, while scrub racing is con- 
tinually going on, the river being the grand highway of the country ; 
roads, except near the settlements, being used but little. Most of the 
Indian River boats are flat-bottomed and provided with centre-boards. 
They range from fifteen to forty feet in length ; and all rigs are repre- 
sented by them. The sharpie model, carrying two leg-of-mutton sails, 
is quite a favorite, as it is roomy and of light draft. 

In this connection it may not be inappropriate to mention the "trade 
boats" which ply the river. They are a useful class, and carry directly 
to the houses of the people what they may require in good variety and 
quality of all kinds of groceries and dry-goods. What they do not have 
in stock will be brought by order. They perform the same service as 
the peddlers' carts in the North. 

As in all warm climates, insects of various kinds, hues and habits, 
may be found (or will find you). Among the most industrious of them 
is the mosquito. The flea also is ever-present. Mosquitoes during the 
summer are troublesome over most of the river at night, though 
some localities are free from them. They are becoming less as the 
population increases. Among the Mangrove islands they are very numer- 
ous, and many amusing stories are told by boating parties, caught with- 



The Indiati River. 1 1 1 

out wind or mosquite-bar at night in Indian River Narrows : amusing 
when related afterward to their friends. 

Thirty or more different States and countries are represented by the 
resident population of Indian River. They are for the most part as 
intelligent, refined, and cultured a community as can be found anywhere 
in the same area. 

Baptists, Methodists, Presbyterians, and Episcopalians form the bulk 
of the religious element, but the majority are very liberal in their views, 
and there is a copious sprinkling of free religious and agnostic sentiment. 
There are two church buildings, one at La Grange, the other at Titus- 
ville — three miles apart. Mission services are held monthly at different 
points upon the river. Free public schools can be found in every 
school district. 

The following figures, taken from Brevard County Assessment roll 
for the year 1882, will give an idea of the pecuniary condition of the 
county ; two-thirds or more of the population being on the Indian River 
side of the county : the Kissimmee River forming the western boundary, 
Orange and Volusia Counties on the north, and Dade on the south : 

Number of polls 368 

Number of acres owned by private parties 196,438.05 

" " improved 1,961.38 

Valuation of improvements on public lands (squat- 
ters, and U. S. Homesteads not proved), not 

including value of the land $18,015 

Number of horses 244 

" sheep 4 

hogs 1,345 

" cattle 35> 76 

Aggregate value of animals $204,295 

" " personal property 295,976 

" " " " and real estate 603,070 

Upon this last item the total State and County tax assessed was 
1 6f mills. The millage this year will be about 15 mills, or $15 upon 
one thousand. A poll tax of $1 for each male is also levied. 

The county finances are in good condition. Strict record of all 
expenditures is kept, and Brevard County paper, which two years ago 
was offered at thirty cents on a dollar, is at this writing scarce at ninety 
cents, and will be out of the market after this year's taxes are collected. 
The bulk of the real estate is owned on Indian River, while the 
cattle interest, which is large, is owned principally on the west side of 
the St. John's River, which splits the county nearly in two from north 
to south. Of those living on the east or Indian River side of the coun- 
ty very few families live far from the bank of the river on either shore. 
The houses are strung along like beads upon a string for nearly one hun- 
dred and fifty miles, and, counting the Halifax and Hillsborough Rivers 
and Mosquito Lagoon as a part of the same system of waterways, for a 
hundred miles more. Many beautiful building sites will be utilized in 
the near future by villas and cottages of unique and ornamental 
construction. 



Silk Farming in Florida, 



BY MRS. ELLEN CALL LONG. 



THE American consul at Lyons (France) says, in reference to 
the disease that has proved so disastrous to seri-culture in that 
country : " Silk wants a new country." France does not raise 
half the silk she uses ; England raises none at all. That of 
China is inferior in its manufacture ; and the United States, with 385 
silk-mills to be supplied with the raw material, does not raise over four 
or five thousand pounds of cocoons. For the mills of the United States 
from eight to twelve millions of dollars' worth of raw silk is annually 
imported ; this represents, in manufactured goods, $50,000,000, added 
to which is $35,000,000 of imported silk goods, which makes the an- 
nual value of silk goods used in the United States $85,000,000. These 
statistics, with the knowledge that this country can fulfil the requisite 
conditions for making it a success, are evidences that the time has 
come for us to adopt silk as we did cotton, and in time (not very far 
distant), we shall cease to pay tribute to other countries for what can 
be made a staple product of our own soil. 

The experimental period of seri-culture in the United States has 
passed, and it only remains to make it an accomplished fact. 

Florida's genial climate and luscious orange groves furnish attrac- 
tions to thousands who rush hither with hopes of the immediate acquisi- 
tion of health and wealth, only to be confronted with that terrible 
alternative to a busy man — a period of tedious waiting. Why not de- 
vote this period of comparative inactivity to the cultivation of mul- 
berry-trees and the raising of silk-worms ? They will not interfere 
with your oranges, and will yield you more immediate returns for the 
money invested. Without any calculation of the probable produce 
from an acre of ground planted in mulberry-trees, the results of which 
must depend on so many circumstances, I would urge these immi- 
grants, as well as long-settled Floridians, to give seri-culture a fair trial. 

With a knowledge of the statistical demand for silk and its importa- 
tion, we naturally ask : Why not raise the silk and keep the money we 
now spend for it at home ? Well — why not ? Because the same mind 
asks : " Will it pay ?" 

Does cotton pay at seven or eight cents per pound ? Yet its value 
is $300,000,000 or $400,000,000 to the nation. Silk as an isolated prod- 



Silk Farming in Florida. 1 *o 

uct (except on a very large scale) will not pay ; but as an auxiliary to 
others it will ; and, considering the kind of labor and land required, 
I claim that no other agricultural pursuit will pay so well. The 
poorest land is the best for the mulberry, which requires no fertilizer, 
and to non-producers we look for the labor, for it is work that is acces- 
sible to all classes of people — the old and the young, the busy and the 
idle. A few thousand silk-worm eggs, a shelter from rain and chilling 
winds, common sense, perseverance, and experience are the invest- 
ments that will in time return large profits. 

D'Homergue, who advocated silk-raising in Pennsylvania sixty 
years ago, said then that 3,000 mulberry-trees, covering an acre of 
ground, would, in seven years, be worth annually $7,500. If this was 
possible then in Pennsylvania, it is possible to achieve the same result 
now in Florida in three years' time ; and, believing this, I shall proceed 
to consider the practical methods by which it can be accomplished. 

It is pre-supposed that Florida has the climate, the land, and the la- 
bor, and that the mulberry grows so readily as to be in effect indigenous. 
But of this there are many varieties, and though any smooth-leafed 
species will do, some are preferred to others. China uses altogether 
the mortis multicaulis, and makes gods and prayers in its honor ; Japan 
uses varieties of the same ; Russia, Spain, and Persia use the black- 
fruited mulberry altogether ; France and Italy use the morns alba in its 
varieties, and all make good silk. At present we only hear of diseases 
to the worm in Italy and France. Prof. Riley, entomologist of the 
Agricultural College at Washington, says that after eleven years' trial, 
he finds osage orange to be the healthiest food for the silk-worm, and 
that it contains more of the silk-making resin than the mulberry ; but 
experiments have proved that if the two leaves are placed on the same 
hurdle, the silk-worm inclines naturally to the mulberry. My advice 
is to use the leaf you have, until experience satisfies you as to which 
is best, for we are all experimenting in a new field. 

The great speculation in moms multicaulis trees, forty years ago, 
brought disrepute upon the tree, and made its name one of reproach ; 
but it was the rapid reproduction of the plant that operated against 
speculation, and no defect or deficiency in itself. Chevrael, a distin- 
guished French chemist, gave preference to the morus multicaulis as a 
silk-making leaf, and the remark is common, that, " if I could have but 
one mulberry, I should select the multicaulis. 

In the sandy soil of Florida the leaf of this mulberry loses its suc- 
culent or rank character, which renders it unhealthy to worms ; and it 
is the only variety that will renew its foliage several times in the course 
of the year, provided the terminal leaf is always reserved. This fea- 
ture is necessary to the raising of successive crops of worms, for 
which Florida possesses the great advantage of an unusually long sea- 
son. In light soils the fruited mulberries do not flourish so readily, 
nor have they the large leaf, the tenderness, and the rapid growth of 
the multicaulis. Notwithstanding its advantages, I believe that the best 
results will be obtained in the quantity of silk, if the worm is fed dur- 
ing the fifth age (which is that of silk-making) on leaves of the white 



U4 Silk Farming in Florida. 

or the black mulberry, as these possess a strength that gives vigor to 
the worm at this critical time. 

Next to food in order of importance come the eggs, and the quali- 
ty and kind of these should receive the most careful consideration, for 
on this depends the success of a crop. In France and Italy the peas 
ants live and raise silk- worms in the valleys, shut in by high mountains 
from purifying winds ; to this and to the limited space in their homes 
is attributed the disease of the silk-worm, which has caused a loss of 
millions in money. France can raise eggs ; but they are liable to pro- 
duce worms that grow too feeble to spin silk, and are apt to die before 
reaching the age of silk-making. Pasteur, the great scientist, at great 
cost to the nation, has experimented in the endeavor to find a cure for 
the cause, which he pronounces as fungoid parasite, a lower life that 
preys upon the worm and entails effects that extend to the moth, and 
consequently to the egg. Besides this plague these silk districts are 
troubled with pebrina — a most contagious disease — for a cure of which 
there is an offer of 100,000 francs ; but so far the best knowledge can 
recommend only increased space, cleanliness, and brisk, warm 
breezes. These facts go to prove the great importance of good eggs, 
and the knowledge requisite to raise reliable eggs. At the very start we 
in Florida may not only lose all, but be retrograded for years by an over- 
confidence in the matter of buying and selling eggs. We have no experi- 
ence on this subject, but have everything to learn ; it is possible that 
we of the South may find it best to let the Northern States raise eggs 
for us, or vice versa ; but we know that we can raise the silk, and, when 
we establish this reputation abroad, the world will come to buy eggs of 
a people who can raise three crops of healthy worms in a season ; and 
France herself will be our best customer, for she how receives annually 
from Japan $1,500,000 in value of eggs. The danger of spreading 
eggs full of contagious and hereditary diseases in our State is so 
great and would be so calamitous that I urge all entering upon the in- 
dustry to buy no eggs without a vouched record of the " education " of 
the worms and of the mother from which they came. Caution of this 
kind will secure to the State healthy breeds, and upon this we can 
build a reputation from which we shall gain the best results. 

The Women's Silk-culture Association, of the United States, 1328 
Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, have made the raising of American eggs a 
specialty during the past season, having employed an Italian, who was 
familiar with the work in her own country, to conduct the "education." 
I was a personal observer of her methods, and I can aver that from two 
ounces of eggs (80,000 worms) she did not lose one from disease or 
sickness of any kind. These eggs furnish an opportunity to establish 
a heredity for American eggs, and will only be sold to those who will 
undertake, by the best of food and care, to preserve a record, and re- 
port it officially to the said association. It is only by such modes that 
we can build a reputation in the matter of egg raising. Florida has the 
space, the brisk, warm winds, and can have abundance of good food. 
She can furnish in her homes the important requisites of care and 
cleanliness, and there is every reason to believe that she will become 



Silk Farming in Florida. 115 

a market for the raising and selling of silk-worm eggs ; but she must 
make haste slowly to this end. 

Now for the harvest-time : the crop is made, of which there is 
enough to create the question, What shall we do with it ? But not 
enough to say, What can be done ? Manufacturers will not regard small 
lots of either cocoons or silk. The different silk associations of the 
country, in the endeavor to encourage the industry, will buy cocoons, 
and there are a few speculators offering thirty and forty cents for green 
cocoons, which is more discouraging than no market at all. It is a crop 
that cannot be packed like tobacco or cotton for shipment ; besides, 
long voyages will subject cocoons to mildew and rot. It is of no use 
to raise cocoons unless we can give them a marketable value, and 
individuals will soon cease to produce them without a certainty of 
return for their labor. Chemists, by the test of dyeing, have pro- 
nounced silk raised and reeled in this country better than that of 
Italy, so we know that we can produce it and that the world needs it. 
Its use is no longer confined to the wealthy as a luxury ; its elec- 
trical effects make its wear a necessity to health, mitigating pain and 
preventing contagion, and therefore it must be raised. To make it a 
valuable product on a small scale, the sericulturist must learn to reel 
the silk from his cocoons. This is simple work, and can be readily 
learned by every member of the household. Numerous treatises, de- 
scriptive of every branch of the silk industry, have been published, and 
may be obtained from the nearest book-seller. 

The amount of cocoons raised will make Filatures a necessity, and, 
whether worked in centres or in families, these alone can fix sericulture 
in the United States Manufacturers will not buy cocoons, but they 
will buy marketably-reeled silk ; and when we reel more than our 
own factories need, it can be packed and shipped around the world, if 
need be, at comparatively little cost. Unless this is done, we must 
resolve to abandon silk culture, or accept the alternative of eating the 
cocoon (at least the chrysalis), as do the Chinese. With this knowledge, 
I appeal to Floridians to stand by the industry, raise cocoons, learn to 
reel them at your own firesides, even if you make only strings and 
cords ; and, believe me, you will not be wasting time, but maturing a 
nation's wealth. It is not unreasonable to speculate upon the estab- 
lishment of Filatures in Florida, and, in time, silk factories will arise 
in her midst ; it cannot be done in a day, but it can be in a year, and 
we must resolve to bridge over the time with earnest work and confi- 
dence. Reels are cheap, time is plenty, there are idle hands and idle 
lands, and this pre-eminently family industry can be made to fill the 
sometimes tedious hours of a country life. 



Adventures with Alligators. 



LATE one evening last February I sat on the porch of John 
Pierce's hospitable though modest log house at Fort Bassinger, 
listening to tales of wild frontier life told by my host and his 
stalwart sons. Fort Bassinger is situated on the west bank of 
the Kissimmee River, in South Florida, and is, in that direction, the 
most advanced outpost of civilization, there being no settlers between 
it and the Okeechobee, fifty miles to the south, and but half a dozen 
along the whole course of the Kissimmee River, two hundred and fifty 
miles to the north. It is now a fort only in name, though during the 
Seminole War it was the site of a permanent encampment of troops. 
At present Fort Bassinger consists of the log dwelling-house and out- 
buildings owned by John Pierce, a cattle-man, whose wealth lies in the 
herds which roam the broad prairies of South Florida. 

Suddenly, as we talked, the light of a camp fire streamed across the 
waters of the rive* a quarter of a mile below the house, and curiosity 
impelled us to visit the new-comers and inquire concerning them. On 
reaching the fire we found but one man stretched at length beside it, 
and patiently watching the roasting of a wild turkey that he had shot 
some hours before. He was Frank Lefils, the best known and most 
successful alligator-hunter and guide of South Florida. For nearly 
twelve years he has made this Floridian wilderness his home, and is 
intimately acquainted with its most hidden secrets. Clad in hunter's 
garb, and with hair and beard tawny as a lion's mane, and uncut during 
his years of sojourn in the wilderness, his personal appearance was as 
picturesque as it was remarkable. 

He was bound for the vicinity of Lake Okeechobee, on an alligator 
hunt, and readily consented that I should accompany him and share 
his labors ; though he warned me that the trip would be arduous, and 
not devoid of danger. 

We started at daybreak next morning, the hunter in a stanch 
cypress skiff, and I in the light cedar canoe in which' I was exploring 
those southern wilds. All day long we glided down the swift-flowing 
crooked river, through its monotonous sameness of widespread swamps 
and lagoons of backwater — " dead rivers " they are called — filled with 
water-lettuce, bonnets, flags, and the terrible razor-edged saw-grass, 
but seeing no trace of human occupancy, not even the' palm-thatched 
hut of the wandering Seminole. About five o'clock in the afternoon, 
or "an hour by sun in the evening," as the crackers express it, we 

116 



Adventures with Alligators, \\J 

reached a small hammock of cabbage-palms, which we decided to make. 
our camping-place and the base of our future operations. 

After unloading our boats I made the coffee, boiled the hominy, 
and fried the bacon and dried venison, which formed our staples of 
food, over a fire of " cabbage boots," or dry leaf-stalks from the palm- 
trees, while Lefils erected the mosquito canopies, each supported by 
four stout stakes, and prepared our beds of palm-leaves. These mos- 
quito canopies are indispensable in South Florida, and form a portion 
of the outfit of every traveler. They are made of cheese-cloth, are 
generally six feet long, four wide, and three in height, so that in reality 
they are airy little tents, and afford excellent protection against the 
heavy night dews as well as against mosquitoes. 

After supper, with pipes alight, and stretched at ease on our blankets, 
with the fire blazing brightly between us, Lefils and I exchanged anec- 
dotes of hunting adventures, and from him I learned more of alligators 
and their ways than I had been taught by an experience of months of 
hunting in Floridian wilds. I shall never forget one of the stories he 
told me that night. It was of the tragic death of an acquaintance of 

his, named G , on the upper Suwanee River. Told with dramatic 

force by the hunter, with the uncanny surroundings of that camp, and 
the bellowings of the great bull alligators sounding in our ears, it was 
absolutely blood-curdling. 

It seems that G , who was a powerful man, weighing one 

hundred and eighty pounds, went out bird-hunting with two friends, the 
party being only armed with shot-guns. On their return, as they crossed 
the river, one proposed that they take a bath. Going a few rods below 
the bridge to where there was a deep pool, they took their bath, left 

the water, and were dressing, when G declared that he must have 

one more plunge. He dived from the bank into the deep water, re- 
appeared on the surface, and suddenly, with a terrific shriek and a 
desperate struggle, again disappeared. A moment later a huge alli- 
gator rose to the surface, holding the man in his awful jaws, and swam 
leisurely toward the opposite bank of the river. The monster had seized 
the swimmer by the right arm and the middle of his body, so that he 

was perfectly helpless. As poor G was thus borne across the river 

he begged in his agony that if his companions could not save, they 
would shoot him ; but with only their shot-guns loaded with bird-shot 
they were helpless, and were forced to listen to his heart-rending ap- 
peals without the ability to render him the slightest service. They did, 
however, run up to the bridge, across the river, and down the other 
side, prepared to attack the brute with their knives and clubbed guns. 
He in the meantime had reached the bank, dragged his whole length 
out upon it, and lay there for a minute with lifted head, and holding his 
victim, still alive and struggling, though horribly crushed and mangled, 
high in the air. Suddenly alarmed by the approach of the men from 
the bridge, he turned, and with that quickness of motion so wonderful 
in these ungainly creatures plunged into the river, and with his doomed 
victim disappeared beneath the surface, to rise no more. When the 
breathless runners reached the spot a few bubbles floating on the blood- 

\ 



n8 Adventures with Alligators. 

stained water were all that was left to tell of the hideous tragedy 
just enacted. 

By daylight our little camp was astir, and a few minutes later was 
pervaded by the grateful aroma of boiling coffee and the odor of siz- 
zling bacon. That day was occupied in building a hut, which we 
thatched with palm-leaves, and making other preparations for our 
week's hunt. At odd times during the day the hunter shot a number 
of cormorants, and caught a quantity of cat-fish, all of which he threw 
into the river to attract alligators to the vicinity of our camp. He also 
carefully cleaned his rifles, a beautiful Winchester, and an old muzzle- 
loading Jaeger upon which he placed his chief reliance, and overhauled 
his harpoon, making for it a new shaft of tough hickory, and testing 
every inch of the fine Manilla line attached to the iron head. This 
line, by-the-way, would be easily bitten in twain by the 'gator into 
whose body the harpoon had been driven were it not for an ingenious 
device of the hunter, who uses for the last six or eight feet of his line a 
bunch of strong hempen cords, which slip between the teeth of the 
animal, and baffle all his efforts at parting them. And, last of all, Lefils 
carefully cleaned and trimmed his bull's-eye lantern ; for all our hunt- 
ing was to be what is known as "fire-hunting" and was to be done at 
night. 

At last the sun set, and almost immediately — for there is little twi- 
light in those latitudes — came the darkness which we needed for our 
work. We ate our supper leisurely, however, and waited until about 
eight o'clock, " so as to give all the 'gators a chance to get out and be 
feeding," said the hunter. By that time it seemed to me as though all 
the alligators in the river were not only " out." but in the vicinity of our 
camp ; for the cormorant and the cat-fish bait had done its work, and 
it appeared little short of suicidal to venture out on the water in the 
blackness of the night among the monsters that we could hear 
splashing, grunting, and occasionally bellowing like angry bulls, appar- 
ently within a few feet of us, and I confess I felt rather "scary " as I 
took my seat in the stern-sheets of the skiff, and with paddle in hand 
prepared to send her forth into their midst ; but with Lefils it was a 
matter of regular business, and he was so collected and matter of fact 
that I quickly regained confidence. He sat in the bow, rifle in hand, 
and with the bull's-eye lantern fastened by a leathern thong to his head. 
As the skiff shot out into the river, under the strokes ci my broad- 
bladed paddle, she seemed to follow a golden path made by the narrow 
gleam of light, which was so bright and sharply defined that the dark- 
ness was like black walls on either side. 

We went down stream, and I had not taken a dozen strokes before 
a sharp " hist " from the hunter caused me to cease paddling, and for 
a few seconds our boat drifted with the current, as noiselessly as an 
autumn leaf, down the bright water path. The gleam of his rifle- 
barrel as Lefils raised it to his shoulder was followed by the sharp 
report, and a tremendous splashing in the water just ahead of us. But 
the bullet had done its work surely, and had crashed into the thick 
skull, plump between the eyes. The alligator sank ; but with the long, 



Adventures with Alligators. 1 19 

Slender shaft of the harpoon we quickly found him, and the sharp- 
barbed iron was driven deep into his scaly body. A slight effort 
brought him to the surface, his specific gravity being but little greater 
than that of water, and in another minute the hunter had dexterously 
lodged the ungainly carcass in the boat. Within five minutes after the 
firing of the rifle-shot the harpoon had been detached from the 
dead body, and we were quietly paddling up stream in search of 
another. Within an hour two boat-loads of dead alligators, ten in all, 
had been killed, secured, and deposited on the little bunch of tussocks, 
about a quarter of a mile below our camp, that had been selected as 
our skinning ground. Here we pulled them ashore and piled them in a 
heap to be operated upon the next day, or after they had become 
"thoroughly dead," as Lefils said. All this time I had not seen a 
single alligator until after he had been shot, and was very anxious to 
" shine " a pair of eyes. So, after we had piled our 'gators on the tussocks, 
the bull's-eye was fastened to my head, and with rifle in hand I 
took my place in the bow of the boat, and Lefils took that I had 
occupied in the stern. As we pulled out into the stream I moved my 
head slowly from side to side, as directed by the hunter, and for a 
few minutes saw nothing save the shining pathway among the dark 
lily-pads. 

Suddenly there flashed out from the blackness, right ahead, what 
appeared like two lights shining at a great distance from us. They 
were of a dark lurid red, and glowed like dull coals of fire. I was 
about to call Lefils' attention to them, and ask what they were, when 
they moved slightly, and like an electric shock the knowledge flashed 
across me that a huge 'gator lay directly in our path, not more than 
twenty feet away, and that he was steadfastly regarding us, without 
showing the slightest disposition to move. With a "hist" I arrested 
the progress of the boat, but not until she had drifted so close to the 
great motionless brute that the end of my rifle-barrel almost touched 
the glowing eyes as I aimed between them and pulled the trigger. The 
report was followed by such a terrible lashing of the water under our 
bows that, as the boat was swiftly backed from the scene of disturb- 
ance, she was tossed like a cockle-shell, and I experienced the same 
sensation as when, some years before, I had been forced to sit quietly 
in the stern-sheets of a boat from which a keen-edged lance had just 
sent a monster whale into his death flurry. 

As we lay beyond the sweep of the terrible tail, watching the 
death struggle of the huge reptile, Lefils said, disapprovingly: "That 
was a bad shot You fired too quick. You didn't kill him half dead 
enough." It was very evident that I had not " killed him dead enough;" 
but his motions were so rapid and the light so uncertain that I had no 
chance to complete the deadening by another shot, and we were 
forced to wait patiently until he should become exhausted by his 
struggles. He did not attempt to move from the place in which we 
had found him, but circled round and round, now raising his horrid 
id high into the air, and then lashing the water into a turbid foam 
;h his powerful tail. This state of affairs lasted for ten or fifteen min- 



123 Adventures with Alligators. 

utes, and then the great reptile sank out of sight, and a few ripples only 
marked the scene of the recent commotion. 

" We can't afford to lose him ; he's too big," said the hunter as he 
picked up his harpoon, and we again exchanged places. A few minutes' 
careful feeling among the bonnet roots, and then the barbed iron was 
driven downward with the full force of the sinewy arm, and as I backed 
the boat, Lefils seized his rifle. At the same instant there was a rush 
through the water, and by the light of the bull's-eye, which still remained 
on my head, I had a vision of wide-open jaws and gleaming teeth. Just 
as they were about to close upon me, or so it seemed, there came a 
shot, a rending of wood, and I found myself struggling in the dark 
waters of the river, the lantern extinguished, and everything shrouded 
in the deepest blackness. As I stood irresolute in water up to my 
shoulders, a vigorous stream of the most unique oaths from out of the 
darkness indicated the presence of the 'gator-hunter. I found that he 
still held his rifle in his hand, and as his cartridges were water-proof, 
our predicament was not so alarming nor our loss as serious as had at 
first appeared. But we were forced to wait until daylight before at- 
tempting the recovery of our boat. We waded to the bank, and found 
ourselves on the tussocks in company with our victims of the earlier 
hours of our hunt. Although they were supposed to be dead 'gators, 
and had been left there as such, several of them showed such unmis- 
takable signs of life as we left the river and crawled out among them 
that they had to be "killed again," as Lefils said. He did not waste 
ammunition on them, but killed them with his hunting-knife, in each 
case reaching across the animal, and driving the long knife into the 
body just back of the fore-shoulder. The "why " of this method of 
procedure was so evident that no questions nor explanations were 
needed, for the instant the alligator felt the knife, he struck so savagely 
in the direction from which he supposed the blow to have come, with 
both head and tail, that had the hunter stood on that side he would 
have received serious if not fatal injury. Having thus effectually quieted 
our companions in this our enforced lodging-place, we seated ourselves 
on one of the scaly bodies, and prepared to pass the hours until day- 
light as comfortably as possible. The tobacco and matches in my 
water-proof pouch proved of inestimable value, and in the glowing 
bowls of our pipes we found a source of cheerfulness which even our 
wet garments, made colder and wetter by the damp night breeze, could 
not extinguish. We also succeeded in relighting the bull's-eye lantern, 
which was very fortunate, for by its light we discovered and killed a 
number of venomous water-moccasins which had invaded the tussocks, 
probably only on speculative visits of inquiry, but possibly with mur- 
derous intent. I am not sure, however, that they were not attracted by 
the light, for in all my six months' experience of camp life in Florida I 
have never been troubled by snakes, and doubt very much if they will, 
unprovoked, attack a man. Our light also attracted several alligators, 
whose curiosity was repaid by bullets, and whose dead bodies we 
obtained next day. Had it not been for the clouds of mosquitoes that 
enveloped us, our night with the 'gators would have been compara- 



Adventures with Alligators. 121 

tively comfortable, but they drove us to the verge of insanity, and the 
first streaks of dawn were nailed with delight. 

As soon as it became sufficiently light for us to pick our way, we 
succeeded, partly by wading and partly by swimming, in regaining our 
camp, where our thorough enjoyment of dry clothes, hot coffee, and a 
hearty breakfast almost compensated for the discomforts and dangers 
of the preceding hours. In my canoe we repaired to the scene of our 
disaster, and found our enemy of the night before floating on his back, 
his white belly glistening in the sunlight, stone-dead, and still attached 
to the sunken skiff by the line, of which one end was fast to the har- 
poon in his body and the other to the bow of the boat. It seems that 
when he made his final rush at us Lefils had fired a ball down the 
yawning chasm of his throat, and that in his death agony the alligator 
had seized the side of the boat, and torn it from stem to stern. We 
dragged him up on the tussocks, and measured him, finding him to be 
within an inch of thirteen feet long. Although during that week we 
killed one hundred and twenty alligators, no one of them equaled him 
in size, nor did we have any serious trouble with any other during the 
hunt. 

After eight days' hard work we abandoned our comfortable camp, 
and with boats heavily laden with alligator hides, turned our faces up 
the river toward Fort Bassinger and the civilization which lay beyond. 
— Barker's Weekly. 



Key West and The Dry Tortugas, 



BY KIRK MUNROE. 



FROM the Spanish Cayo Hueso (Bone Key) to the English Key 
West the transition is so simple that it is more than probable 
that in this way this most southern of our Atlantic coast cities 
obtained its name. In Hueso the h is silent, and the u is sounded 
as w, so that the pronunciation becomes Kayo Weso. 

In spite of its being of modern settlement, Key West is possessed 
to most Northern visitors of more interest than any other Florida city, 
from the fact that its flora is so entirely tropical and so different from 
that of the rest of the State, and the majority of its population is so 
foreign in appearance and language. In fact the most surprising thing 
is to see the United States flag flying over the Custom House, and the 
uniforms of United States soldiers in the garrison. With a population 
of about 10,000, it is probable that of these not more than 200 adults 
are American born. The bulk of the resident population are Baha- 
mians, or " Conchs," from the Bahama Islands, Cubans or "Dagos," 
and Negroes ; and of the latter but few are natives of the United 
States. The predominant language is Spanish, and the industries are 
wrecking, sponging, fishing, and cigar-making. Sixty years ago the 
great Florida Reef, extending westward 200 miles from Cape Florida 
to the Dry Tortugas, was unlighted and unbuoyed, and consequently 
the paradise of wreckers. With its myriad keys and innumerable coral 
reefs and shoals, toward which strong currents set from every direction, 
its narrow tortuous channels, and its central position, lying as it does in 
the track of half the commerce of the country, it is not surprising 
that the terrific reef claimed at least one victim for each day of the 
year, and frequently the morning light revealed a dozen or more wrecks 
ensnared within its toils. Consequently wrecking, or " wracking," ac- 
cording to Key West vernacular, became the business of the coast, and 
a ship could hardly be stranded for six hours anywhere along the reef 
without seeing the light-draught, swift-sailing wrecking boats hurrying 
toward her from all directions, like vultures attracted by the scent of 
prey. It was these wreckers who first settled on Cayo Hueso, and made 
it the permanent seat of their flourishing business. Two-thirds of the 



Key West and The Dry Tortugas. 123 

present wealth of Key West was acquired by wrecking, and among 
these wealthy wreckers is one whose fortune is estimated by millions, 
and who was one of the proprietors of the famous Gould and Curry 
Gold Mine in California. But the glory of wrecking has gradually 
departed, with the erection, one after another, of the superb light- 
houses at Cape Florida, Fowey's Rocks, Cary's Foot, Alligator, Som- 
brero, and American Shoals, Key West, Sand Key, Garden Key, and 
Loggerhead, and it is now only a business to be undertaken inciden- 
tally by fishing-smacks or spongers. With the building of the proposed 
lighthouse on Rebecca Shoals, between Key West and the Tortugas, the 
entire reef will be so well lighted that a vessel cruising in waters ad- 
jacent to it need never be out of sight of one or another of its flashing 
beacons of safety. 

Wrecking failing them as a means of livelihood, the Wey Westers 
turned their attention to sponging, fishing for the Havana market, 
and recently to cigar-making, in each one of which industries fortunes 
are annually made. The spongers cruise from Cape Florida along the 
reef and up the Gulf coast to St. Mark's, in search of this treasure of 
the sea, for which the demand is ever increasing, and of which the 
supply, owing to its rapid growth, is inexhaustible. In such quantities 
are sponges brought to the Key West market that at one of the daily 
auction sales on the city wharf recently $17,000 worth were disposed 
of in a few hours, at an average value of two dollars per pound. 

Cigar-making is at present the most important industry of Key 
West. While ten years ago there were but four cigar factories in the 
place, there are now more than a hundred. To be sure most of these 
are small affairs, occupying shanties or portions of small dwelling- 
houses ; but they are all worked to their utmost capacity, and the 
result is the daily product of thousands of cigars, of which the entire 
quantity is consumed in the United States ; and even at this rate the 
demand for these cigars is largely in excess of the supply. During the 
winter months there is no more healthy nor delightful city in the world 
than Key West. With days bright and clear, the temperature of 80 
degrees made bearable by the steady trade-winds, and nights cool and 
still, the climate is a perpetual tonic. 

As I have already said, in the flora of Key West lies one of its chief 
charms. Towering everywhere and above all else are the stately 
cocoanut and date palms, laden with fruit, attracting the eye by 
their graceful shape and symmetrical proportions, and affording a 
delicious shade. Of less height but of equal interest to the Northern 
eye are the sapadillo, avocata-pear, sea-grape, tamarind, mango, paw- 
paw, banana, and many others with strange Spanish names, all fruit- 
bearing ; the royal ponceana, most beautiful of shade trees, the wild 
almond, whose leaves during the winter assume the rich hues of our 
autumnal foliage, the gum alamo, or "gum alimbo," as the natives call 
it, whose bark, leaves, and berries are sovereign remedies for many 
human ailments, the slender Australian fir, which will grow nowhere 
else in the United States, the geiger-tree, with dark leaves and scarlet 
flowers, the Spanish laurel, and many another, of which even their 



124 Key West and The Dry Tortugas. 

owners do not know their names. There is also to be seen, in front of 
the officers' quarters at the barracks, a superb banyan-tree, which is 
believed to be the only one in this country. Beneath the trees the gar- 
dens are crowded with dense masses of flowering shrubs. Oleanders, 
weighed down with great pink blossoms/are large bushes meriting the 
name of trees rather than shrubs, roses of all colors run riot everywhere 
in unrestrained luxuriance, the air is heavy with the sweet odors of 
myrtle and jasmine ; the cactus giganticus, with a woody, tree-like trunk, 
and the candelabra cactus rear their curious forms from amid a dozen 
lesser varieties, and everywhere their sombre green is relieved by the 
vivid glowing scarlet of the poinsetta. Hedges are formed of the 
American aloe and sharp-spiked yucca from which the flower-stalks 
shoot up among the tree-tops, delicate convolvuli of every shade and 
tint, and great trumpet-flowers, gorgeous in flaming colors clamber over 
fences, hedges, and trellises. Yet the soil that fosters this prodigal 
wealth of vegetation is apparently sterile, being composed of broken 
shell and disintegrated coral rock, and but few of the gardens receive 
any attention at the hands of their owners. 

With half a dozen exceptions, the houses and buildings of Key West 
are of wood, and most of them are very small and contain but three 
or four rooms. Those of the well-to-do are, of course, larger, and are 
surrounded by balconies and broad verandas, in the cool .shade of 
which the hammocks hang and are in constant use from year's end to 
year's end. 

In many respects the town reminds one of Nantucket in midsum- 
mer. The salt flavor of the air, the flannel- shirted-high-booted fisher- 
men on the streets, the wreckage lying about the wooden wharves, the 
crow-nests on the housetops from which incoming vessels are first 
sighted, the interest felt in the arrival and departure of steamers, and, 
above all, the street auctions, all are constant reminders of the island 
city of the Massachusetts coast. There, however, I have never seen 
but meat auctions, which are heralded for hours beforehand by the 
town-crier as he passes through the streets with his clanging bell. 
Here is the crier and the clamorous bell, and the announcement is 
made in nearly the same terms and accentuation, "Auction this 
mor-n-ing in front of the town ha-1-1," or of so-and-so's store ; but it 
is not only the sale of meat that he announces : it is fruit, eggs, spon- 
ges, dry-goods, groceries, wreckage, or whatever may be on hand. A 
cat-boat comes over from the main land with a hundred oranges, or a 
few dozen bunches of plantains, or some stalks of sugar-cane, and 
forthwith there must be an auction ; or a fisherman comes from the 
Tortugas with a 400-pound turtle ; he is handed over to the turtle 
butcher, who carves him scientifically into marketable pieces, and he is 
sold at auction. A load of sponges arrives, and the auctioneer is sum- 
| moned ; a wreck is discovered and stripped, and the first question 
asked regarding it is, " Where will the auction take place ? " 

Having spent a week in Key West, we were ready for a change, and 
when the skipper of our yacht proposed a run over to the " Tugas" for 
a day's fishing we readily assented to it. Although the proposition was 



Key West and The Dry Tortugas. 125 

made late one afternoon as we swung lazily in our hammocks, beneath 
the awning which cast its grateful shade over the entire length and 
breadth of the snowy deck, we voted to start that very night. The 
proposition was no sooner accepted than our preparations were begun. 
Fishing-tackle was overhauled, the steward was sent ashore to renew 
his supplies of provisions, those of the crew who were ashore on leave 
were recalled, and late that evening we dropped down with the tide, 
past the sleeping town, under the frowning walls of Fort Taylor, and 
out to sea. No sound save the continuous roar of breakers on the 
outer reefs broke the perfect stillness. The sea was unruffled by a 
breath and gave back a dazzling reflection of the glorious tropical 
moon. The Pole Star hung low on the northern horizon, and far to 
the southward, just above the line where sky and water blended, shone 
faintly the Southern Cross. A bit of ragged cloud drifted across the 
sky, a few drops of rain fell from it, and to the other glories of the 
night was added a perfect lunar rainbow, spanning the western heavens 
with its arch, and combining in subdued tints all the prismatic colors 
of its solar counterpart. 

A light breeze sprang up as the shower passed, topsails were loosed 
and sheeted home, and the water made merry music as it gurgled 
under our bows and trailed far astern, a rippling pathway of light. It 
was hard to leave a scene of such wonderful beauty ; but a regard for 
the duties of the morrow persuaded us, and soon after midnight we 
passengers went below, leaving the moonlight to the undisturbed con- 
sideration of the watch on deck. 

By sunrise the seventy-mile run had been accomplished, and as, 
roused by the call " 'Tugas close aboard, sir!" we hurried up the com- 
panion-way, we found the schooner carefully threading a narrow, tor- 
tuous channel between two submerged reefs of white coral, that gleamed 
like frosted marble through the clear water, and surrounded by half a 
dozen little low-lying islands of sand. Directly in front of us, on Gar- 
den Key, the largest of the Tortugas, loomed the red-brick walls of 
Fort Jefferson, one of the largest of all our fortifications and second 
only in size to Fortress Monroe, on Hampton Roads. A few minutes 
of quirk work and admirable steering took us clear of the perilous 
channel, and we rounded to, handsomely, alongside the stone pier of 
the fort, directly opposite its massive gateway. 

As we stepped ashore, we were greeted and welcomed by tne entire 
garrison, which at present consists of but six souls- an ordnance ser- 
geant and his wife; a civil employee of the engineer corps and his wife; 
the keeper of the little lighthouse, that rears its shaft from an inner 
an<de of the walls;. and the " Chief." Of these, the last was by far the 
most important personage to us and attracted our attention and curi- 
osity as much, if not more, than did the deserted fort or the Tortugas 
themselves; for the " Chief " is a full-blooded Indian, and the last sur- 
vivor of that once powerful Northern tribe, the Pequots of New Eng- 
land By a curious coincidence, this sole representative of his tribe is 
named for the founder of the sect that blotted that tribe from existence 
and caused Calvin Nedson to be known as "the last of the Pequots. 



126 Key West and The Dry Tortugas. 

Nedson, now a man of about forty, when a mere lad, shipped in Mys- 
tic, Connecticut, his native place, on board a trading schooner bound 
for New Orleans. The schooner was wrecked on the Tortugas, and 
here the Indian has remained, reveling in the delightful climate and 
finding it easy to supply his simple wants by wrecking, fishing, and 
gathering coral for Northern curiosity dealers. His cabin, just without 
the great gate of the fort, is built of timbers gathered from many a 
wreck, and in and about it are quaint wooden statues, that once 
served as figure-heads for gallant ships, but which now look as un- 
canny and out of place as did the gigantic wooden figures that used 
to startle the guests of Lord Timothy Dexter in his famous New- 
buryport garden. Inside, the cabin is littered with a wonderful 
collection of marine curiosities — quaint shells, delicate corals, gor- 
geous sea-fans, grotesque fishes, and odd bits from innumerable wrecks. 
Having been born and brought up among white men, Nedson hardly 
regards himself as an Indian, and only betrays himself in an occasional 
outburst when any one calls him Mr. Nedson, or by any other title 
than that of "Chief." 

The fort occupies the entire island, and within its thick casemated 
walls are enclosed nine acres of land. Once the enclosure was coarse 
white sand, devoid of a blade of grass or other trace of vegetation ; but 
cargo upon cargo of rich earth, brought from incredible distances, and the 
patient labor of years, have transformed it into a veritable oasis. Now the 
entire inner space is covered with a soft carpet of Bermuda grass, co- 
coanut and date palms have attained a stately growth, great oleanders 
blush with pink and crimson bloom through the year, roses grow in 
luxuriance, and many another flowering shrub and climbing vine helps 
make glad this once waste place of the earthy The building of the 
great fort was begun in 1846, and it is not yet entirely finished. Every 
brick, every bit of granite, iron, and wood helping to form the massive 
structure, was brought by sea from New York, and the work thus far is 
said to have cost $30,000,000. It is surrounded by a deep and wide 
moat, and that by a heavy sea-wall of granite. Its officers' quarters 
and barracks are the finest in the country, the former being three- 
storied buildings of pressed brick, with airy balconies to each story. The 
rooms are high-ceiled, the walls hard-finished, and in each room is a 
handsome fireplace and mantel. Many of the officers' rooms show 
traces of the taste of their former occupants in their tinted walls and 
frescoed ceilings. It was easy to repeople these rooms, in imagination, 
with brave young soldiers, and to fancy the many festive scenes of 
which the dumb walls have been witness. In one of them I picked 
from the floor a relic of a former feast, in the shape of a rusty can- 
opener, and on one of the walls of the same room was written in a clear, 
firm hand the pledge to abstain from all intoxicating liquors for a cer- 
tain period, to which was affixed the date of a long ago New Year's 
eve, and the names of three officers still well known in the army. 
1 But all of the scenes witnessed by these walls have not been festive, 
[Many of them have been sad and terrible. During the Civil War it 
was converted into a military prison, and within its walls as many 



Key West and The Dry Tortugcis. 127 

as 20,000 persons have been enclosed at one time. Of course, 
among so many, in that climate, deaths were frequent, and, with the 
exception of Loggerhead Key, on which stands the lighthouse, every 
one of the little sand islands composing the Tortugas is a cemetery, 
from which, to this day, every gale washes human bones. Dr. Mudd, 
the physician who attended Wilkes Booth after his assassination of 
President Lincoln, was confined in a cell of Fort Jefferson. For many 
months he was kept in solitary confinement, until the terrible yellow 
fever broke out in the garrison, when the offer of his professional 
services was accepted, and he worked so heroically among the sick 
that, from then until the time of his release, he was allowed the liberty 
of the post and treated by the officers "as a friend, rather than a pris- 
oner. Many tales are told by the lighthouse-keeper at Loggerhead of 
attempts to escape made by desperate prisoners during the war. He 
tells of one man, who, he affirms, was the son of an English nobleman, 
who offered him ^500 for his boat, and promised that, if he would 
carry him over to Havana in it, he would take him to England and 
settle a handsome annuity upon him for life. The lighthouse- 
keeper refused the tffer, and soon after, on a dark, stormy night, the 
young Englishman, with three fellow-prisoners, eluded the sentries, 
swam and waded to Loggerhead, two and a half miles, took the light- 
house boat, and set forth in the storm and darkness, never again to be 
heard from, though the boat, wrecked, broken, and bottom upward, 
was picked up in the Gulf a week later. 

The post was last garrisoned in 1878, since which time it has been 
in charge of an ordnance sergeant, and has been gradually dismantled. 
Now, as one paces the vast length of the breezy galleries, from which 
open the casemates, he notes in the rotting wood, the crumbling mor- 
tar, and the occasional aperture from which a brick has fallen, the work 
of decay and ruin, which in those latitudes is so swift and sure. 

The Tortugas consist of Garden Key, Sand Key, Bird Key, East 
Key, and Loggerhead Key, and of these the next in size and impor- 
tance to Garden Key is Loggerhead, the most westerly of the group 
and the uttermost point of land. On it stands a lighthouse whose 
slender white shaft, rising 152 feet above the few acres of coral reef 
that appear above the water and afford it a foundation, can be seen 
almost as far by day as its powerful light by night. As some of us 
were vainly essaying to climb a tall cocoa-palm within the fort, ani- 
mated by a desire to reach the cluster of great nuts that hung just un- 
der the crown of leaves, a loud call from the " Chief " informed us that 
a boat was ready to take us over to the lighthouse. That two-and-a- 
half mile sail was one never to be forgotten ; for, as we glided slowly 
over the unruffled surface, we seemed suspended in mid-air over Fairy- 
land. Far below us, amid forests of coral as delicate as silver fret- 
work and as fantastic in form as the frost vagaries upon a window-pane, 
darted fish, in color as brilliant as richly-hued tropical birds ; and here 
and there great beds of feathery sea-fans, vivid in reds, greens, and 
blues, waved to and fro, as though tossed by summer breezes. Un- 
couth shell-fish emerged from and disappeared into cool crystal grot- 



128 Key West and The Dry Tortugas. 

toes, and above all and within reach of our hands sailed the ships of the 
fairy Nautili. 

The beach of Loggerhead is a sand as white as snow, made of dis- 
integrated coral, and here we landed only long enough to enable the 
light-keeper to make a couple of skillful throws with his leaden-weighted 
cast-net into the shoals of sardines that swarm close alongshore. They 
were so numerous that the result of the two throws was the landing of 
a thousand of the .dainty silver fish on the beach. They were trans- 
ferred to the boat for bait, and we set sail for the fishing-ground, which 
was half a mile beyond the island, just behind a coral reef, upon which 
the great breakers roared like thunder ^nd threw dazzling clouds of 
spray high in air. Here we anchored, and threw out our lines. That 
is, two of us threw out lines, while the lighthouse-keeper and his assist- 
ant prepared to bait hooks and take care of the fish ; and a busy time 
they had of it. It seemed as though those fish had been kept on short 
rations for many days ; for they actually crowded each other out of the 
way, in their eagerness to seize the bait. In the crystal water we could 
watch their every movement. And how we did haul them in ! Splen- 
did fellows, of all the colors of the rainbow. In five minutes the bot- 
tom of our boat looked like a kaleidoscope, with its mass of brilliant, 
rapidly-moving color ; and our attendants could not work fast enough 
to answer our urgent demands for " More bait!" or " Take that fellow 
off quick, and let me try for this one waiting right down here!" 

It was late in the day before we reached the yacht, and found our 
skipper anxiously regarding the eastern sky, over which a haze was 
rapidly stealing. It meant wind, and, as he said, " a right smart of it 
too, and we can't be none too quick a-gettin' cl'ar of these yere choral 
reefs." It was a nasty night, and, as we staggered along under double- 
reefed jib and mainsail, our little craft, now climbing slowly up a long, 
steep hill of glass and then darting like an arrow down an equally steep 
incline, into black, yawning depths, it seemed highly probable that the 
" Chief " might soon have a fresh supply of timber with which to build 
an addition to his house if he so wished. But it was grand, and as fine 
in its way as the preceding night had been ; and as the night wore on 
and no harm, other than the breaking of some huge wave on our decks, 
and consequent duckings, came to us, we realized that we were making 
very good weather of it, after all, and were many degrees removed from 
shipwreck. As the morning broke, and the sun rose in an unclouded 
sky, we found ourselves off the Marquesas and half-way back to Key 
West. Over them the great green seas were breaking and throwing up 
masses of spray and foam, that looked like ragged banks of fleecy 
cloud. The Marquesas once rounded, we were able to lay a course and 
make a quick run for Key West, which port we made by noon, safe and 
well satisfied with our experience of the Dry Tortugas. — New York 
Independent. 



Statistical Tables. 

Prepared by Chas. A. Choate. 

THE following statistical tables will be revised and added to each 
year ; thus furnishing a vast amount of reliable and valuable 
information regarding Florida. 

I.— CHRONOLOGICAL. 

Florida discovered by Juan Ponce de Leon. March 27, 15 12 

Ponce de Leon landed near Fernandina April 2, 15 12 

Fernandez de Cordova landed on Florida coast 1517 

Ponce de Leon made first Governor (Adelantado) 1521 

Pamphilo de Narvaez sailed from Spain for Florida June 17, 1527 

Narvaez anchored in Clear Water Harbor , April 14, 1528 

Hernando de Soto sailed from Cuba for Florida May 18, 1539 

De Soto landed in Tampa (Espiritu Santo) Bay May 30, 1539 

Don Tristan de Luna's Colony landed at Pensacola 1559 

Ribault entered St. John's River (River of May) May 1, 1562 

Laudonniere arr. in St. Augustine Bay June 22, 1564 

Ft. Carolina, St. John's River, b'lt by Huguenot Colony. . . ,July, 1564 
Pedro Menendez s'l'd from Cadiz, Spain, for Florida. . . . .July 1, 1565 
English fleet, under Sir John Hawkins, arr. St. John's 

River Angus* 3, 1565 

Menendez arr. and named St. Augustine Bay August 26, -C65 

St. Augustine founded by Menendez August 29, 1565 

Ribault arr. St. John's River August 29, 1565 

Menendez arr. St. John's River September 24, 1565 

Ribault's fleet wrecked off Cape Canaveral September 10, 1565 

Huguenot Colony, Ft. Carolina, massacred by Me- 
nendez September 21, 1565 

Laudonniere and Huguenot survivors return to 

France September 25, 1565 

Ribault and companions massacred by Menendez 1565 

Spanish forts, St. John's River, taken by De Gourgues 1568 

St. Augustine burned by Sir Francis Drake 15S6 

St. Augustine ravaged and burned by pirates 1665 

Pensacola settled by Spaniards 1696 

Pensacola taken by French under Bienville May 14, 17 18 

Pensacola retaken by Spaniards 17 18 

129 



1 3° Statistical Tables. 

Pensacola retaken by French under De Champ- 

meslin September 18, 1719 

Pensacola retaken by Spaniards 1722 

St. Augustine besieged by Gen. Oglethorpe June 20, 174c 

Battle at Fort Moosa — Oglethorpe repulsed June 25, 1740 

Siege of St. Augustine raised July 7, 1740 

Second invasion by Oglethorpe 1743 

Seminole Nation founded by Creek Chief 1750 

Exchange of Cuba for Florida by England and 

Spain February 10, 1763 

Invasion of Florida by Spanish Army 1779 

Pensacola occupied by Spaniards May 10, 1781 

Exchange of Florida for the Bahamas by England and Spain 1783 

West Florida ceded by Spain to France ; 1785 

Independence of West Florida declared at Baton 

Rouge September 26, 1810 

Secret acts Congress, taking possession of Florida 

January 15 and March 3, 181 1 

Republic of Florida formed at St. Mary's 181 2 

Fernandina surrendered to U. S. authorities March 19, 1812 

Pensacola occupied by English August 4, 1814 

Pensacola taken by Gen. Jackson November 7, 1814 

Seminole War begun in Georgia 181 7 

Apalachicola massacre by Seminoles. November 30, 1817 

Spanish fort at St. Mark's taken by Gen. Jackson .April 7, 1818 

Pensacola again occupied by General Jackson May 25, 1818 

Florida formally ceded by Spain to the U. S February 22, 1819 

Seminole treaty October 18, 1820 

Territories of East and West Florida formed March 30, 1822 

The two Territories merged in Territory of Florida March 3, 1823 

John Brandl, of Florida, app'd Sec. of the Navy March 9, 1829 

Gen. R. K. Call app'd to command army in Florida. December 6, 1835 

Seminole War in Florida , 1835 to 1842 

Battle near Alachua savannah December 19, 1835 

Battle of Micanopy December 20, 1835 

Massacre of Gen. Thompson's party by Osceola. . .December 28, 1835 

Massacre of Maj. Dade's command December 28, 1835 

Battle of Withlacoochee December 31, 1835 

Second battle of Micanopy , January 9, 1836 

Battle of Wetumka .January 9, 1836 

Battle of Dunlawton January 18, 1836 

Gen. Scott app'd to command army in Florida January 21, 1836 

Second battle of Wrthlacoochie February 29, 1836 

Third battle of Micanopy June 9, 1836 

Battles of Wahoo Swamps November 17, 18, and 21, 1836 

Gen. Jessup app'd to command army in Florida. . . . December 8, 1836 

Battle of Hatcheelustee January 27, 1837 

Battle of Lake Monroe February 8, 1837 

Treaty with Seminoles at Camp Dade March 6, 1837 



Statistical Tables. I 3 I 

Osceola and 71 prisoners captured by Gen. Jessup October, 1837 

Battle of Okeechobee December 25, 1S37 

Battle of Wacasassa River December 26, 1837 

Battle of Jupiter Creek January 15, 1838 

Battle of Jupiter Inlet January 24, 1838 

Death of Osceola at Fort Moultrie January 30, 1838 

First State Constitution adopted January 11, 1839 

Gen. Armistead app'd to command army in Florida May 6, 1840 

Battle of Chakachatta June 2, 1840 

Battle of Wakahoota September 6, 1840 

Harney's expedition to the Everglades December, 1840 

Battle of Pilaklikaha April 19, 1842 

Seminole War declared ended August 14, 1842 

Florida admitted as a State March 3, 1845 

Chattahoochee Arsenal seized by Confederates January 6, 1861 

Fort Marion, St. Augustine, seized by Confederates. ..January 7, 1861 

Ordinance of Secession passed at Tallahassee January 10, 1861 

Fort Pickens, Pensacola, besieged by Confederates. . January 18, 1861 

Battle of Santa Rosa Island October 9, 1861 

Pensacola evacuated — Navy Yard burned May 10, 1862 

Battle of Olustee February 22, 1864 

Battle of Natural Bridge April 6, 1865 

William Marvin app'd Provisional Governor. July 13, 1865 

Ordinance of Secession repealed October 28, 1865 

New Constitution adopted February 25, 1868 

Fourteenth Amendment ratified June 9, 1868 

Government transferred to State authorities July 4, 1868 



II.— DISTANCES FROM JACKSONVILLE. 

MILES. 

Astor— Up St. John's River (S. J. & L. E. R. R.) 134 

Aucilla— Fla. Cent. & West. R. R 131 

Apalachicola — F. C. & W. R. R., and down Apa. R 286 

Argyle— F. C. & W. & P. & A. R. Rs 285 

Archer— F. C. & W. & Transit R. Rs 85 

Altoona— Up St. J. R. & St. J. & L. E. R. R 153 

Buffalo Bluff— Up St. J. R 87 

Beecher — Up St. J. R 101 

Blue Spring— Up St. J. R 168 

Boulogne— E. F. ("Waycross ") R. R 42 

Baldwin— F. C. & W. R. R i 9 

Bristol— F. C. & W. R. R. & down Apa. R 227 

Bluff Springs— F. C. & W. & P. & L. R. Rs 411 

Bonifay— F. C. & W. & P. & A. R. Rs 261 

Bellevue— F. C. & W. & P. & A. R. Rs 316 

Bronson— F. C. & W. & Transit R. Rs 94 

Brooksville — F. C. & W., Transit, Peninsular R. Rs. & Stage 170 

Boardman— St. J. R & F. S. R. R 124 



I3 2 Statistical Tables* 

Bel Air— St. J. R. & S. F. R. R 196 

Barstow— F. C. & W., Transit, Peninsular R. Rs. & Stage 175 

Cabbage Bluff— Up St. J. R 165 

Callahan— E. F. R. R. (" Waycross ") 20 

Cedar Keys— F. C. & W. & Transit R. Rs 127 

Cottondale— F. C. & W. & P. & A. R. Rs . 244 

Climax (Ga.)— F. C. & W. & G. & E. P. R. Rs 239 

Drayton Island— Up. St. J. R 116 

De Land— Up St. J. R 162 

Drifton— F. C. & W. R. R. (Monticello branch) 138 

Dupont (Ga.)— F. C. & W. & Fla. Br. S. F. & W. R. R 130 

Edgewater— Up St. J. R 80 

Enterprise—Up St. J. R 198 

Ellaville— F. C. & W. R. R 95 

Fruit Cove— Up St. J. R 19 

Federal Point— Up St. J. R. . 58 

Fort Gates— Up St. J. R 106 

Fort Reid— Up St. J. R 203 

Fernandina — F. & J. R. R 33 

Fort Mason— Up St. J. R. & St. J. & L. E. R. R 160 

Fort Gadsden— F. C. & W. R. R. & down Ap'a R 271 

Fairbanks— F. C. & W. & Transit R. Rs 65 

Fort Myers— F. C. & W. & Transit R. Rs. & Str. from Cedar Key. 265 

Green Cove Spring — Up St. J. R , 30 

Glen St. Mary— F. C. & W. R. R 30 

Greenville— F. C. & W. R. R 124 

Gainesville— F. C. & W. & Transit R. Rs., 70— Up St. J. R. & F. 

S. R. R 125 

Hibernia— Up St. J. R 23 

Hart's Orange Grove— Up St. J. R 75 

Hart's Road— F. & J. R. R 21 

Houston— F. C. & W. R. R 76 

Hawthorne— F. C. & W., Transit & Penin'a R. Rs 70 

Iola— F. C. & W. & down Ap'a R 247 

Jasper— F. C. & W. & Fla. Br. S. F. & W. R. Rs 98 

Key West— F. C. & W., Transit R. Rs., & Str. from Cedar Keys. . . 350 

Kissimmee— Up St. J. R. & S. F. R. R 233 

Lake George — Up St. J. R 115 

Lake Beresf ord — Up St. J. R 163 

Lake Weir L'd'g— Up St. J. & Ock. Rs 226 

Leesburg— Up St. J. & Ock. Rs., 279— F. C. & W , Tr., & Pen. R. 

Rs. and Stage 143 

Lake Griffin— Up St. J. & Ock. Rs 284 

Lake City— F. C. & W. R. R 59 

Live Oak— F. C. & W. R. R. (Fla. Br. S. F. & W. & L. O. & R. B. 

R. R.) 82 

Lake de Funiak— F. C. & W. & P. & A. R. Rs 289 

Lawtey— F. C. & W. & Transit R. Rs 38 

Lochloosa— F. C. & W., Transit & Pen'a R. Rs 76 



Statistical Tables. *33 

Longwood— Up St. J. R. & S. F. R. R 203 

Mandarin— Up St. J. R 15 

Magnolia— Up St. J. R 28 

Mt. Royal— Up St. J. R 105 

Mellonville— Up St. J. R 195 

Mayport — Down St. J. R 25 

Mouth of Ocklawaka River— Up St J. R 106 

Madison— F. C. & W. R. R no 

Monticello— F. C. & W. R. R & Mont'o Br 142 

Mt. Pleasant— F. C. & W. R. R 198 

Molino— F. C. & W., P. & A. and P. & L. R. Rs 396 

Marianna— F. C. & W., and P. & A. R. Rs 234 

Milton— F. C. & W., and P. & A. R. Rs 349 

Manatee— F. C.& W. Transit R. Rs., and Str. from Cedar Keys. . . 150 

Millview— F. C. & W., P. & A., and P. & P. R. Rs 378 

Micanopy— St. J. R. and F. S. R. R 123 

Maitland— St. J. R. and F. S. R. R 208 

New Switzerland— Up St. J. R 23 

Norwalk— Up St. J. R 103 

New Bradford— F. C. & W., and L. O. & R. B. R. Rs 106 

New Smyrna — Up St. J. R., and Stage from Enterprise 228 

Orange Park— Up St. J. R 15 

Orange Mills— Up St. J. R 63 

Okeehumkee — Up St. J. and Ock. Rs 350 

Ocala— F. C. & W. Transit, & Pen'a R. Rs 106 

Olustee— F. C. & W. R. R 47 

Otter Creek— F. C. & W., & Transit R. Rs 106 

Orange Lake— F. C. & W., & Pen'a R. Rs 85 

Orlando— Up St. J. R., & S. F. R. R 215 

Picolata— Up St. J. R 44 

Palatka— Up St. J. R * 75 

Pendryville— Up St. J. & Ock. Rs 308 

Pensacola— F. C. & W. & P. & A. R. Rs 369 

Pensacola June.— F. C. & W., P. & A., & P. & L. R. Rs 415 

Ponce de Leon— F. C. & W. & P. & A. R. Rs 278 

Punta Rassa— F. C. & W. & Transit R. Rs. & Str. from Cedar Keys. 250 

Perry June— Up St. J. R., & F. S. R. R 115 

Quincy— F. C. & W. R. R 189 

Remington Park — Up St. J. R 25 

Rolliston— Up St. J. R 78 

River Junction— F. C. & W. R. R. (P. & A. R. R.) 209 

Ricoc's Bluff— F. C. & W. R. R., & down Ap'a R 237 

Rixford— F. C. & W., & Fla. Br. S. F. & W. R. Rs 86 

Rcsewood— F. C. & W., & Transit R. Rs 117 

San Matio— Up St. J. R 79 

Seville— Up St. J. R 120 

Spring Garden — Up St. J. R 122 

Sanford— Up St. J. R. (S. F. R. R.) 193 

Savannah (Ga.)— E. F. R. R. ("Waycross") 172 



1 34 Statistical Tables. 

Silver Spring— Up St. J., & Ock. Rs 211 

F. C. & W., Transit, & Pen'a R. Rs 102 

St. Augustine— Up St. J. R. & St. J. R. R 67 

J. St. A. & H. R. R. R 50 

Sanderson— F. C. & W. R. R 37 

Sulphur Springs— F. C. & W. R. R 79 

Suwanee Springs— F. C. & W., & Fla. Br. S. F., & W. R. Rs 90 

St. Mark's— F. S. & W. (St. M. Br.) 186 

Starke— F. C. & W., & Transit R. Rs 45 

Santa Fe— F. C. & W., Transit & Pen'a R. Rs 64 

Sumterville— F. C. & W., Transit Pen'a & Trop. Pen. R. Rs 141 

Tocoi— Up St. J. R. (St. J. R. R.) 49 

Tallahassee— F. C. & W. R. R 165 

Tampa— F. C. & W. & Transit R. Rs. & Str. from Cedar Keys. . . 220 
Tampa— F. C. & W. & Transit & Pen'a R. Rs., & Stage from 

Sumterville 175 

Tavares— Up St. J. R., St. J. & L. E. R. R. & Str. from Ft. Mason. 200 

Titusville— Up St. J. R. & Stage 250 

Umotella— Up St. J. R. & St. J. & L. E. R. R 156 

Volusia— Up St. J. R 134 

Welaka— Up St. J. R 100 

Wekiva— Up St. J. R 184 

Waycross (Ga.)— E. F. R. R 76 

Welborn— F. C. & W. R. R 71 

Wakulla Spring— F. C. & W. R. R. & Stage from Tallahassee 181 

Waldo— F. C. & W. & Transit R. Rs 56 

Wildwood— F. C. & W., Transit, Pen'a, & Trop. Pen'a R. Rs 132 

Winter Park— Up St. J. R. & S. F. R. R 210 

Yellow Bluff— Down St. J. R 14 

Yalaha— Up St. J. & Ock. Rs 335 

III.— LATITUDE AND LONGITUDE. 

THE STATE. 

Latitude, between 24 25' and 31 00', North. 
Longitude, between 80 ° 2' and 87 ° 37', West. 

RELATIVE LATITUDE OF CITIES AND TOWNS. 

Key West and Amoy, China ; Moorshedabad, India. 

Apalachicola and New Orleans, Louisiana ; Galveston, Texas.; Ning Po, 

China ; Suez, Egypt. 
Tallahassee and Mobile, Alabama ; Austin, Texas ; Cairo, Egypt. 

RELATIVE LONGITUDE OF CITIES AND TOWNS. 

Key West and London, Canada ; Cleveland, Ohio ; Columbia, South 
Carolina ; Augusta, Georgia ; Matanzas, Cuba. 

Tallahassee and Apalachicola and Lansing, Michigan ; Dayton, Ohio ; 
Covington, Kentucky ; Atlanta, Georgia. 



Statistical Tables. *35 

IV.— AREAS. 

THE STATE. 

Square miles, land 54,240 

" " water 4,44° 

Total area in square miles 58,680 

Acres, land 34,713,600 

Extreme length of peninsula 400 miles 

Average width of peninsula 100 " 

Length, east and west, of northern portion 375 " 

Average width, north and south, of northern portion 65 " 

1. — Comparative Average Areas. 

PER CENT. 

Florida is to average area of all the States 1.094 

" " area of California 378 

" " area of Rhode Island 45-3& 1 

2. — Comparative Increase in JVumber of Farms in Georgia, Alabama, 

and Florida. 



1870. 



Increase. 



Georgia. 
Alabama 
Florida.. 



69,956 
67,382 
10,241 



138,626 

135,864 

23,438 



98.2 per cent. 
101.6 " 
128.9 " 



THE COUNTIES. 

-County Sites and Area of Counties. 



Alachua. . 
Baker. . . . 
Bradford . 
Brevard . . 
Calhoun. 

Clay 

Columbia 
Dade.. .. 
Duval . . . 
Escambia 
Franklin. 
Gadsden. 



COUNTY SITE. 



Gainesville 

Sanderson 

Lake Butler 

Titusville 

Blountstown 

Green Cove Springs. 

Lake City 

Miami 

Jacksonville 

Pensacola 

Apalachicola 

Quincy 



SQ. MILES. 



I,26o 

500 

550 

4,39° 
1,160 
640 
860 
7,200 
900 
720 
690 
54o 



806,400 
320,000 
352,000 
2,809,600 
742,400 
409,600 

55 1» 4oo 
4,608,000 
576,000 
460,800 
441,600 

345> 6o ° 



1 36 Statistical Tables. 

County Sites and Area of Counties — Continued. 



Hamilton . . . 
Hernando. . . 
Hillsborough 

Holmes 

Jackson 

Jefferson 
La Fayette . 
Leon ....... 

Levy 

Liberty 

Madison. . . . 
Manatee 

Marion 

Monroe 

Nassau 

Orange 

Polk 

Putnam 

St. John's . . . 
Santa Rosa. . 

Sumter 

Suwanee 

Taylor 

Volusia 

Wakulla 

Walton 

Washington . 



COUNTY SITE. 



Jasper 

Brooksville . . 

Tampa 

Cerro Gordo. 
Marianna. . . . 
Monticello. . . 
New Troy . . . 
Tallahassee . . 

Bronson 

Bristol 

Madison . . . . 
Pine Level . . . 

Ocala 

Key West 

Fernandina. . 

Orlando 

Bartow 

Palatka 

St. Augustine 

Milton 

Sumterville . . 
Live Oak 

Perry 

Enterprise . . . 
Crawfordville 
Euchee Anna, 
Vernon 



SQ. MILES, 



54o 

1,700 

1,300 

54o 

1,000 

560 

940 

900 

940 

800 

850 

4,680 

1,680 

2,600 

640 

2,250 

2,060 

860 

1,090 

1,260 

1,380 

660 

1,080 

i,34o 

580 

1,360 

i,33o 



345,6co 

1,088,000 

832,000 

345, 6 oo 

.640,000 

35 8 ,4oo 

601,600 

576,000 

601,600 

512,000 

544,°oo, 

2,995,200 

1,075,200 

1,664,000 

499,600 

1,440,000 

1,388,400 

55°,4oo 

640,600 

806,500 

883,200 

422,400 

691,200 

857,600 

371,200 

870,400 

211,200 



V.— POPULATION. 

THE STATE. 

i. — Comparative Increase by Decades. 



Pop. 



Increase. 



Census of 1840 

1850 

" i860 

1870 

. * 1880 



54,477 

87,445 
140,424 

187,748 
269,493 



(Territorial.) 

60.5 per cent. 

60.6 " 

33-7 
43.6 " 



Statistical Tables. 



137 



2. — Census of 1880 — Race, Sex, and Nationality. 

Native 259,584 Foreign 9,9°9 

White 142,605 Black 126,690 

Male 136,444 Female i33>°49 

Voting population 61,699 

3. — Comparative Increase, 1870 to 1880, in Georgia, Alabama, and 

Florida. 



Alabama 
Georgia. 
Florida. , 



1S70. 



996,992 

1,184,109 

187,748 



1S80. 



1,262,505 

1,542,180 

269,493 



Increase. 



26.6 per cent. 
30.2 " 
43.6 



4. — Population of Cities and Towns over 4,000. 



Jacksonville 
Key West . . 
Pensacola... 



1S70. 



6,912 
5,016 
3,347 



1880. 



7,650 
9,890 
6,845 



Increase. 



10.7 per cent. 
97.2 
104.5 



THE COUNTIES. 

5. — Population by Counties. 



County. 



1870. 



1SS0. 



Increase. 



Alachua . 
Baker . . . 
Bradford . 
Brevard . 
Calhoun. . 

Clay 

Columbia 

Dade 

Duval. . . . 
Escambia 
Franklin , 
Gadsden. 
Hamilton 



17,328 
1,325 
3, 6 7i 
1,216 
998 
2,098 

7,335 
85 
11,921 
7,817 
1,256 
9,802 

5,749 



16,462 

2,303 
6,112 

i,478 
1,580 
2,838 

9,5 8 9 

257 

I9.43 1 
12,156 

i,79 r 
12,169 

6,790 



(Decrease, 5 p.c.) 
73.8 per cent. 
66.5 
2i-5 
583 
40.0 
30.6 
202.3 
62.9 
56.8 
42.6 
24.1 
18.1 



i 3 8 



Statistical Tables. 
Population by Counties — Continued. 



County. 



Hernando . . . 
Hillsborough 

Holmes 

Jackson 

Jefferson 
La Fayette... 

Leon 

Levy 

Liberty 

Madison 
Manatee 

Marion 

Monroe 

Nassau 

Orange 

Polk 

Putnam 

St. John's. . . . 
Santa Rosa . . 
Sumter. 

Suwanee 

Taylor 

Volusia 

Wakulla 

Walton 

Washington. . 



1870. 



2,938 
3,216 

i,572 

9,528 
13,398 

1,783 
15, 2 3 6 

2,018 

i,°5° 
11,121 

i,93i 
10,804 

5> 6 57 
4,247 
2,i95 
3,i 6 9 
3,821 
2,618 
3,3i2 
2,952 
3,55 6 
i,453 
1,723 
2,506 

3,o4i 
2,302 



1880. 



4,248 

5,8i4 
2,170 

14,372 

16,065 

2,441 

19,662 

5,767 

1,362 

14,798 

3,544 

i3, 46 

10,940 

6,635 
6,618 

3,i8i 
6,261 

4,535 
6,645 
4,686 
7,161 

2,279 
3, 2 94 
2,723 
4,201 
4,089 



Increase. 



44.5 percent. 

80.8 

38.0 

50.8 

19.9 

36.9 

29.0 

185.8 

29.7 

33-i 

109.4 
20.8 

93-4 

56.2 

201.5 

■4 

639 

73- 2 
100.6 

58.7 

101.4 

56.8 

91.2 

8-7 
38.1 
776 



VI.— LIST OF GOVERNORS. 

TERRITORIAL. 

Andrew Jackson July, 182 1, to June, 1822 

Wm. P. Duval 1822, 1834 

John W. Eaton 1834, 1835 

Richard K. Call 1835, 1839 

Robert R. Reed 1:839, ^4° 

Richard K. Call 1840, 1844 

John Branch 1844, 1845 

STATE. 

W. D. Moseley July, 1845, to June, 1848 

Thomas Brown 1848, 1852 

James E. Broome 1852, 1856 



Statistical Tables. 1 39 



1856, to June, 


i860 


i860, 


1865 




1865 


July to Dec, 


1865 


1865, to July, 


1868 


1868, 


1873 




1873 


1873, 


1877 


1877, 


1881 


1881, 


1884 



Madison Perry July, 

John Milton 

A. K. Allison (acting) 

Wm. Marvin (provisional) 

David S. Walker, Sr Dec., 

Harrison Reed 

Ossian B. Hart 

Marcellus L. Stearns 

George F. Drew 

Wm. D. Bloxham 



VII.— UNITED STATES OFFICERS. 

CONGRESSIONAL. 

SENATORS. 

Hon. Wilkinson Call, Jacksonville ; term expires 1885. 
Hon. Charles W. Jones, Pensacola; " " 1887. 

REPRESENTATIVES. 

First District. — Escambia, Santa Rosa, Walton, Holmes, Washing- 
ton, Jackson, Calhoun, Franklin, Liberty, Gadsden, Wakulla, Leon, 
Jefferson, Taylor, La Fayette, Levy, Hernando, Hillsborough, Mana- 
tee, Polk, and Monroe Counties. 

Hon Robert H. M. Davidson, Quincy ; term expires 1884. 

Second District.— Madison, Suwanee, Hamilton, Columbia, Ala- 
chua, Bradford, Baker, Nassau, Duval, Clay, St. John's, Putnam, Sum- 
ter, Marion, Volusia, Orange, Brevard, and Dade Counties. 

Hon. Horatio Bisbee, Jr., Jacksonville ; term expires 1884. 

JUDICIAL. 

UNITED STATES CIRCUIT COURTS. 

Fifth Judicial Circuit. — Districts of Georgia, Florida, Alabama, 
Mississippi, Louisiana, and Texas. 

Hon. Wm. B. Woods, Atlanta, Ga., Supreme Court Justice assigned; 
Hon. Don A. Pardee, New Orleans, La., Circuit Judge. 

E. M. Cheney, Jacksonville, U. S. Attorney, Northern District ; G. 
B. Patterson, Key West, U. S. Attorney, Southern District. 

James. H. Durkee, Jacksonville, Marshal, Northern District ; 
Peter Williams, Key West, Marshal, Southern District. 

Philip Walter, Jacksonville, Chas. H. Foster, Tallahassee, W. W. 
Wharton, Pensacola, Clerks, Northern District ; E. O. Locke, Key 
West, Clerk, Southern District. 



14 Statistical Tables. 

Terms. — Northern District : Jacksonville, first Monday in De- 
cember ; Tallahassee, first Monday in February ; Pensacola, first Mon- 
day in March. Southern District : Tampa, first Monday in March ; 
Key West, first Monday in May and November. 

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURTS. 

Northern District. — Alachua, Baker, Bradford, Brevard, Calhoun, 
Clay, Columbia, Dade, Duval, Escambia, Franklin, Gadsden, Hamil- 
ton, Holmes, Jackson, Jefferson, La Fayette, Leon, Levy, Liberty, 
Madison, Marion, Nassau, Orange, Putnam, St. John's, Santa Rosa, 
Sumter, Suwanee, Taylor, Volusia, Wakulla, Walton, and Washington 
Counties. 

Hon. Thomas Settle, Jacksonville, District Judge. 

E. M. Cheney, Jacksonville, U. S. Attorney. 

James H. Durkee, Jacksonville, Marshal. 

Philip Walter, Jacksonville, Clerk, Eastern Division. 

Chas. H. Foster, Tallahassee, Clerk, Middle Division. 

W. W. Wharton, Pensacola, Clerk, Western Division. 

Terms. — Eastern Division, Jacksonville, first Monday in Decem- 
ber ; Middle Division, Tallahassee, first Monday in February ; West- 
ern Division, Pensacola, first Monday in March. 

Southern District. — Hernando, Hillsborough, Polk, Manatee, and 
Monroe Counties. 

Hon. James W. Locke, Key West, District Judge. 
G. B. Patterson, Key West, U. S. Attorney. 
Peter Williams, Key West, Marshal. 
E. O. Locke, Key West, Clerk. 

Terms. — Tampa, first Monday in March ; Key West, first Monday 
in May. 

COLLECTORS OF CUSTOMS. 

Seth M. Sawyer . . Apalachicola 

John W. Howell Fernandina 

F. N. Wicker Key West 

J. M. Tarble Pensacola 

F. E. Witzell St. Augustine 

E. Higgins Jacksonville 

Joseph Hirst (resigned June 14, 1883) Cedar Keys 

MISCELLANEOUS. 

M. Martin, Surveyor-General .- Tallahassee 

D. Eagan, Revenue Collector Jacksonville 

Louis A. Barnes, Register Land Office Gainesville 

Jno. F. Rollins, Receiver Land Office Gainesville 



Statistical Tables. J 4i 



VIII.— STATE AND COUNTY OFFICERS 

EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT. 

Wm. D. Bloxham Governor 

Livingston W. Bethel Lieutenant-Governor 

John L. Crawford Secretary of State 

George P. Raney Attorney-General 

Henry A. L'Engle Treasurer 

Wm. D. Barnes Comptroller 

J. E. Yonge Adjutant-General 

P. W. White Commissioner of Lands and Immigration 

E. K. Foster Sup't of Public Instruction 

Cabinet Officers. — Secretary of State, Attorney-General, Comptroller, 
Treasurer, Superintendent of Public Instruction, Adjutant-General, 
and Commissioner of Lands and Immigration. 

Board of Commissioners of State Institutions. — The Governor and 
Cabinet. 

Board of Education. — Superintendent of Public Instruction, Secre- 
tary of State, and Attorney-General. 

Board of Pardons. — The Governor, Justices of the Supreme Court, 
and Attorney-General. 

Bureau of Immigration. — The Governor, Comptroller, and Com- 
missioner of Lands and Immigration. 

Board of State Canvassers. — The Secretary of State, Comptroller, 
and Attorney-General. 

Board of Trustees, Internal Improvement Bund. — The Governor, 
Comptroller, Treasurer, Attorney-General, and Commissioner of Lands 
and Immigration. 

Chas.. E. Dyke, Tallahassee, State Printer. 

H. S. Duval, Chattahoochee, State Engineer. 

B. M. Burroughs, Tallahassee, State Timber Agent. 

JUDICIAL DEPARTMENT. 
SUPREME COURT. 

Hon. E. M. Randall, Jacksonville, Chief Justice. 

Hon. R. B. Van Valkenburgh, St. Nicholas, Associate Justice. 

Hon. J. D. Westcott, Jr., Tallahassee, '' " 

Chas. H. Foster. Clerk. 

Alex. Moseley, Marshal. 

Terms. — Semi-annual, second Tuesday in January and June, in 
Supreme Court Room in the State Capitol at Tallahassee. 



142 Statistical Tables. 

CIRCUIT COURTS. 

First Circuit. — Santa Rosa, Escambia, Walton, Holmes, Washing- 
ton, and Jackson Counties. 

Hon. A. E. Maxwell, Judge ; Wm. H. Milton, State Attorney. 

Terms. — Santa Rosa, last Monday in March, and second Monday in 
October ; Escambia, second Monday in April, and first Monday in 
December ; Walton, first Monday after fourth Monday in April, and 
fourth Monday in October; Holmes, second Monday after fourth 
Monday in April, and second Wednesday after fourth Monday in 
October ; Washington, third Monday after fourth Monday in April, 
and second Monday after fourth Monday in October ; Jackson, fourth 
Monday after fourth Monday in April, and third Monday after fourth 
Monday in October. 

Second Circuit. — Franklin, Calhoun, Liberty, Wakulla, Gadsden, 
Leon, and Jefferson Counties. 

Hon. David S. Walker, Sr., Judge ; Jno. A. Henderson, State At- 
torney. 

Terms. — Franklin, fourth Monday in April, and last Monday in 
October ; Calhoun, first Thursday after third Monday in April, and 
first Monday in November ; Liberty, third Monday in April, and first 
Thursday after first Monday in November ; Wakulla, first Monday in 
April, and third Monday in November ; Gadsden, second Monday in 
April, and second Monday in November ; Leon, third Monday in 
March, and second Monday in December ; Jefferson, first Monday in 
March, and fourth Monday in November. 

Third Circitit. — Taylor, La Fayette, Madison, Hamilton, Suwanee, 
and Columbia Counties. 

Hon. E. J. Vann, Judge ; B. B. Blackwell, State Attorney. 

Terms. — Taylor, first Tuesday after first Monday in April, and first 
Tuesday after first Monday in October ; La Fayette, sixth Tuesday after 
fourth Monday in April, and sixth Tuesday after fourth Monday in 
October ; Madison, second Monday in April, and second Monday in 
October ; Hamilton, fourth Monday in April, and fourth Monday in 
October ; Suwanee, first Monday after fourth Monday in April, and 
first Monday after fourth Monday in October ; Columbia, third Mon- 
day after fourth Monday in April, and third Monday after fourth 
Monday in October. 

Fourth Circuit. — Nassau, Duval, Baker, Bradford, Clay, and St. 
John's Counties. 

Hon. James M. Baker, Judge ; A. W. Owens, State Attorney. 

Terms. — Nassau, third Tuesday in April, and third Tuesday in 
October ; Duval, first Tuesday in May, and first Tuesday in Novem- 
ber ; Baker, second Tuesday in April, and second Tuesday in October ; 
Bradford, first Tuesday in April, and first Tuesday in October ; Clay, 



Statistical Tables. 143 

fourth Tuesday in March, and fourth Tuesday in September ; St. 
John's, second Tuesday in March, and second Tuesday in September. 

Fifth Circuit. — Alachua, Levy, Marion, Putnam, and Sumter 
Counties. 

Hon. Thos. F. King, Judge ; Wm. A. Hocker, State Attorney. 

Terms — Alachua, fourth Monday after fourth Monday in March, 
and first Monday after fourth Tuesday in November; Levy, fourth 
Tuesday after fourth Monday in March, and fourth Tuesday in Novem- 
ber ; Marion, fourth Monday in March, and third Monday in October ; 
Putnam, third Tuesday after fourth Monday in March, and third 
Tuesday in November ; Sumter, third Monday in March, and first 
Monday in October. 

Sixth Circuit. — Hernando, Hillsborough, Polk, Manatee, and Mon- 
roe Counties. 

Hon. H. L. Mitchell, Judge ; S. M. Sparkman, State Attorney. 

Terms. — Hernando, second Monday in March, and fourth Monday 
in October ; Hillsborough, fourth Monday in March, and second Mon- 
day in October ; Polk, third Monday in May, and second Monday 
after fourth Monday in October ; Manatee, first Monday in May, and 
third Monday after fourth Monday in October ; Monroe, second Mon- 
day in April, and fifth Monday after fourth Monday in October. 

Seventh Circuit. — Orange, Volusia, Brevard, and Dade Counties. 
Hon. Wm. Archer Cocke, Judge ; Alex. St. Clair Abrams, State 
Attorney. 

Terms. — Orange, second Monday in May, and second Monday in 
December ; Volusia, second Monday in April, and second Monday in 
November ; Brevard, third Monday in March, and third Monday in 
October ; Dade, first Monday in March, and first Monday in October. 



LEGISLATIVE DEPARTMENT. 

SENATORIAL DISTRICTS. 

First District — Escambia County. 

Second District — Santa Rosa County. 

Third District — Jackson County. 

Fourth District — Washington and Holmes Counties. 

Fifth District — Calhoun and Franklin Counties. 

Sixth District — Gadsden County. 

Seventh District — Liberty and Wakulla Counties. 

Eighth District —Leon County. 



144 Statistical Tables. 

Ninth District — Jefferson County. 

Tenth District — Madison County. 

Eleventh District — Hamilton County. 

Twelfth District — Taylor and La Fayette Counties. 

Thirteenth District — Alachua County. 

Fourteenth District — Columbia County. 

Fifteenth District — Bradford County. 

Sixteenth District — Nassau County. \ 

Seventeenth District — Putnam County. 

Eighteenth District — Duval County. 

Nineteenth District — Marion County. 

Twentieth District — Orange County. 

Twenty-first District — Dade and Brevard Counties. 

Twenty-second District — Hernando County. 

Twenty-third District — Sumter County. 

Twenty-fourth District — Monroe County. 

Twenty-fifth District — Walton County. 

Twenty-sixth District — Suwanee County. 

Twenty-seventh District — Polk and Manatee Counties. 

Twenty-eighth District — Clay and Baker Counties. 

Twenty-ninth District — Volusia County. 

Thirtieth District — Hillsborough County, 

Thirty-first District — St. John's County. 

Thirty-second District — Levy County. 

APPORTIONMENT OF MEMBERS OF ASSEMBLY. 

Escambia County, three ; Santa Rosa County, two ; Walton, two ; 
Holmes, one ; Washington, one ; Franklin, one ; Calhoun, one ; Jack- 
son, three ; Liberty, one ; Wakulla, one ; Gadsden, three ; Leon, four ; 
Jefferson, four ; Madison, three ; Taylor, one ; Hamilton, two ; Su- 
wanee, two ; La Fayette, one ; Columbia, three ; Alachua, four ; Levy, 
two ; Bradford, two ; Clay, one ; Baker, one ; Nassau, two ; Duval, 
four ; St. John's, two ; Volusia, one ; Orange, two ; Putnam, two ; 
Marion, two ; Sumter, two ; Hernando, two ; Hillsborough, two ; 
Polk, one ; Manatee, one ; Dade, one ; Brevard, one ; and Monroe, 
two. 

The Legislature is composed of 108 members (32 Senators and 76 



Statistical Tables. 



H5 



Members of Assembly), and meets biennially, on the first Tuesday after 
the first Monday in January, counting from its first session in 1868, 
under the existing Constitution. 



LIST OF SENATORS, 1883, 



WITH POST-OFFICE ADDRESS. 



L. W. Bethel (President) 
Geo. W. Allen (24th Dist.) . . . 

H. C. Baker (16th Dist.) 

William Bryson (26th Dist.). 
H. W. Chandler (19th Dist.). 

J. D. Cole (9th Dist.) 

A. D. Cone (15th Dist.) 

J. L. F. Cottrell (32d Dist.) . 

E S. Crill (17th Dist.) 

Charles Delano (29th Dist.). 

J. B. Df.ll (13th Dist.) 

H. H. Duncan (23d Dist.) 

M. G. Fortner (27th Dist.).. . 

J. C. Greeley (18th Dist.) 

W. D. Hankins (12th Dist.).. . 
H. H. Hatcher (25th Dist.). . 
S. M. Hendricks (28th Dist.). 

J. M. Landrum (2d Dist.) 

J. T. Lesley (30th Dist.) 

S. R. Mallory (1st Dist.). . . . 

A. S. Mann (22d Dist.) 

Miles Mountien (4th Dist.). . 
J. H. McClellan (5th Dist.).. 

J. H. McKinne (3d Dist.) 

A. J. Polhill (nth Dist.) 

F. W. Pope (10th Dist.) 

Geo. C. Powers (31st Dist.). . 

J. E. Proctor (8th Dist.) 

H. L. R. Roberts (14th Dist.). 
Wm. H. Sharpe (21st Dist.).. . 

J. N. Sheppard (6th Dist.) 

J. G. Speer (20th Dist.) 

T. F. Swearingen (7th Dist). 



POST-OFFICE. 



Key West 

Key West 

King's Ferry 

Live Oak 

Ocala 

Monticello 

Lake Butler 

Cedar Keys 

Palatka ... 

Spring Garden Center 

Gainesville 

Yalaha 

Keysville 

Jacksonville 

Steinhatchie 

Freeport 

Green Cove Spring. . . , 

Milton 

j Tampa 

Pensacola 

Crystal River 

Vernon 

Chipola 

Marianna 

Belleville 

Madison 

Florence 

Tallahassee 

Lake City 

City Point 

Chattahoochee 

Oakland 

Crawfordville 



Monroe. 

Monroe. 

Nassau. 

Suwanee. 

Marion. 

Jefferson. 

Bradford. 

Levy. 

Putnam. 

Volusia. 

Alachua. 

Sumter. 

Polk. 

Duval. 

La Fayette. 

Walton. 

Clay. 

Santa Rosa. 

Hillsborough. 

Escambia. 

Hernando. 

Washington. 

Calhoun. 

Jackson. 

Hamilton. 

Madison. 

St. John's. 

Leon. 

Columbia. 

Brevard 

Gadsden. 

Orange. 

Wakulla. 



146 



Statistical Tables. 



LIST OF MEMBERS OF ASSEMBLY, 1883, 

WITH POST-OFFICE ADDRESS. 



Chas. Dougherty, Speaker 

Robert F. Allison 

Lawrence Baker 

William Bethel 

Robert J. Bevill 

W. A. Byrd 

B. B. Blackwell . . 

Newton A. Blitch 

John H. Brelsford 

R. L. Brown 

John M. Bryan , 

John W. Bryant , 

James S. Calk. 

John L. Campbell 

George P. Canova 

Wilson W. Cassady 

S. C. Cobb 

William W. Clyatt 

James L. Colee 

C. A. Cowgill 

Mack Davis 

L. G. Dennis , 

W. H. Edwards. 

H. H. Floyd 

J. L. Gaskins 

Thomas W. Getzen 

Thomas S. Goodbread 

John E. Grady 

Thomas A. Hall 

J. J. Harris 

G. A. Hendry 

Isaac Jenkins 

C. C. Keathly 

L W. Kickliter 

M. M. Lewey 

G. W. Lyle 

Milton H Mabry 

E. P. Melvin 

H. E. Miller 

William H. Milton 



POST-OFFCE. 


counxy. 


Port Orange 


Volusia. 




Suawanee. 


Blount's Town. . 


Calhoun. 


Key West 


Monroe. 




Hamilton 


Monticello 


Jefferson. 


Jasper 


Hamilton. 


Williston 


Levy. 


Lake Worth 


Dade 


Jacksonville.. . . 


Duval. 


Fort Mason 


Orange. 


Medulla 


Polk. 


Cerro Gordo. . . . 


Holmes. 


Euchee Anna. . 


Walton. 


Sanderson 


Baker. 


Sumterville 


Sumter. 




Escambia. 


Levy ville 


Levy. 


St. Augustine . . . 


St. John's; 


Penn 


Putnam. 


Bradfordville . . . 


Leon. 




Alachua. 


Lake Butler .... 


Bradford. 


Racy Point 


St. John's. 




Bradford. 




Columbia. 


Esteinhatchee. . . 


La Fayette. 


Apalachicola... . 


Franklin. 


Madison 


Madison. 




Orange. 


Concord 


Gadsden. 




Leon. 


Brooksville 


Hernando. 


Starke.. 


Clay. 
Alachua. 




San Mateo .... 


Putnam. 


Leesburg 


; Sumter. 




Washington. 




Marion. 




Jackson. 



Statistical Tables. 



H7 



LIST OF MEMBERS OF ASSEMBLY— Continued. 



Walter R. Moore. , 
Clayborn Munroe. 
M. W. C. McCardy. 
James F. McLellan 
John McLellan. . . . 
W. H. McCormick. . . 
Andrew J. McLeod. 

J. J. MCMULLEN 

William H. Neal. . . 

A. B. Osgood 

James P. Perkins. . . 
Francis M. Platt. . 

G. W. Proctor 

Royal Putnam 

Charles Rollins. . . 

R. E. Robinson 

James A. Robinson . . 

Benjamin Rush 

H. W. Sindorf 

J. N. Stripling. 
L. W. Thompson 
John W. Tompkins. . 

F. M. Townsend. . . . 
William Trapp 

G. W Tully 

J. P. Vaughan 

T. L. Ward 

W. S. Weeks 

John W. Whidden . 

M. S. White 

G. W. Wetmore .... 
Samuel A. Wilcox. 
C. L. Wilder 

W. A. WlLKERSONT. . . 

John Wilkinson 

G. W. Witherspoon , 



POST-OFFICE. 



Welborn 

Midway 

Beasley's 

Marianna 

Milton 

Jacksonville.., 

Live Oak 

Clear Water. . . 

Orange 

Madison 

Myers 

Rock Ledge. . 
Monticello.. . . 

Molino 

Tallahassee . . 
Fernandina. . . 
Greenwood.. . . 
Gainesville.. . . 
Blackwater. . . 

Madison 

Mandarin . . . , 
Lake City. . . . 
Brooksville. . . 
Gainesville . . . 
Crawfordville. 

Freeport 

Quincy 

Tallahassee. . . 

Davidson 

Pensacola 

Jacksonville. . 

Perry 

Cork 

Flemington. . . 
Fernandina. . . 
Monticello.. . . 



Columbia 

Gadsden. 

Jefferson. 

Jackson. 

Santa Rosa. 

Duval. 

Suwanee. 

Hillsborough. 

Liberty. 

Madison. 

Monroe. 

Brevard. 

Jefferson. 

Escambia. 

Leon. 

Nassau. 

Jackson. 

Alachua. 

Santa Rosa, 

Madison. 

Duval. 

Columbia. 

Hernando. 

Alachua. 

Wakulla. 

Walton. 

Gadsden. 

Leon. 

Manatee. 

Escambia. 

Duval. 

Taylor. 

Hillsborough. 

Marion. 

Nassau. 

Jefferson. 



148 



St. Mistical Tables. 



H 




£ 




« 




S 




H 




p4 




< 


C/3 


p^ 


« 


w 


w 


Q 


u 




1* 




u. 


W 





> 


>» 


H 




«* 





r ■ 







75 



Q 



O 3 
h Z 



ji^c^ 






■aJS 

1-1 



6:5^ 



XZ& 



.en 



In --Ph <S 

V?> k* S • '"* 



■ SOoS,a u a . o. ■ 









art 



•J So 










Oh H 




"3 2 



S E E £ I * 



— « ej »-. 



Statistical Tables. 



149 



4 





g ^ 
* s 

5- 


s 


V 


c 
c 

-5 






^1 




hJ 


fil 






■"- 




p-: 


c 


- 


e 


> 


CO 


H 


M 


X 




to 


£ 


2 


- 


►"! 



» •! iS « ' • 




^ w 

O 3 

h 2 

- U 

a > 

J M 

J OS 





osley, 

ssee. 

ixon, 

on. 

isford, 

VI ill. 

ramore, 

»on. 

atson, 


2 " 

si ,fi 


o" . .£ 

rt co [5 ro •* 


e.e|o* 5= « g 





E 
J2'o 









> rj 2 ,J cc 



■S«i»S{° 



2 -J2- "XiH 



8.S.0 -H.S.a_ 

53 Su2w £.S< 






"° .- — 



:~£ 



TJ OS" 3 



e -S 



^ £ 



V 0) -« m M M 

H^ J J 2 2 -= 



£ O P. 



w to in \n 



£ * £ 



I 5°- Statistical Tables. 

IX.— IMPORTANT LAWS. 

LIMITATION OF ACTIONS. 

Actions are barred : 

For recovery on Judgments and Contracts under seal in. .20 years. 

" " of Real Estate after adverse possession of .. . 7 " 

" " on Contracts not under seal in 5 " 

" " • for recovery for any Article charged in Store 

account in 4 " 

" " on any Liability created by Statute, except 

penalty or forfeiture in 3 " 

" " for Trespass on Real Estate in. 3 " 

" " for Detainer in 3 " 

" " for Injury to Personal Property in 3 " 

" " for Relief against Fraud in 3 " 

" " on Contract not written in 3 " 

" " on Open Account in ; 2 " 

" u for Statutory Penalty in 2 " 

" " for Libel, Slander, Assault, Battery in 2 " 

RATE OF INTEREST. 

Legal rate 8 per cent. 

By contract no limit. 

HOMESTEAD AND EXEMPTIONS. 

Exempt from Forced Sale under any Process of Law. — Homestead, 
owned by head of family residing in the State, in the country, 160 
acres ; homestead, in any incorporated city or town, 1-2 acre ; personal 
property to the amount of $1,000. 

Note. — Such real estate is not alienable without the joint consent 
ot husband and wife, when that relation exists ; and no property is ex- 
empt from sale for taxes, purchase-money, or liens for improvements or 
labor. The owner must actually reside on city or town homestead, 
which must comprise only the residence and business house of the 
owner, not exceeding $1,000 in value. 

Exempt from Forced Sale where Liability was incurred before May 10, 
1865. — Personal property to the amount of $1,000. 

Exempt from Execution, Attachment, and Distress. — Necessary wear- 
ing-apparel and bedding of every person, and necessary wearing- 
apparel, bedding, household, and kitchen furniture of every family- 
such furniture not to exceed $200 in value ; the farm of every farmer 
owning in fee forty acres, of which five acres or more are in actual 
cultivation and productive use, the whole, including improvements, not 
exceeding $1,000 in value ; the boat of every fisherman, pilot, or resi- 
dent upon any island, and the boat and fiat of every ferryman, the same 



Statistical Tables. I5 1 

in either case not exceeding $200 in value ; bounty lands located by 
any soldier under warrant issued by virtue of any Act of Congress, 
while in the possession of such soldier, if he has no other lands exempt. 

Exempt front Execution, Attachment, and Distress, except when Defend- 
ant is Removing or Resides out of the State, or is Secreting or fraudulently 
Disposing of his Property to avoid Payment of Just Debts. — The horse, sad- 
dle, and bridle, or the horse, saddle, vehicle, and harness, of every clergy- 
man, not exceeding $300 in value ; the horse, saddle, bridle, medicine, 
and professional books of every surgeon and physician, and the profes- 
sional books and libraries of all professional men, not exceeding $300 
in value ; one set of worjcing-tools or instruments of every mechanic, 
artist, dentist, artisan, or tradesman, not exceeding $300 in value ; 
the horse and gun of every farmer engaging in the actual cultivation 
of five or more acres of land, not exceeding $200 in value ; such 
property of every actual housekeeper with a family as is necessary 
for the support of himself and family, not exceeding $300 in value — 
if all other exemptions above are waived. 



X.— PUBLIC LANDS. 

UNITED STATES LANDS. 

Land Office, Gainesville. L. A. Barnes, Register. 

Total acres surveyed up to June 30, 1879 30,151,946 

" " unsurveyed up to June 30, 1879 7>779>574 

Price, $1.25 per acre. 

STATE LANDS. 

Land Office, Tallahassee. P. W. White, Commissioner. 

1. — Swamp and Overflowed Lands. 

Total acres patented to the State to Jan. 1, 1883 14,831,739 04 

Disposed of prior to Jan. 1, 1881 1,684,729 42 

Sold to settlers and others since Jan. 1, 1881, 163,366 49 
" Hamilton Disston " " " 4,000,000 00 

Conveyed to Railroads " " " 180,927 55 

Entered by S. I. Wailes " " " 21,664 03 6,050,687 49 

Total acres on hand, January 1, 1883 8,781,051 55 

2. — Internal Improvement Lands. 

Total acres on hand, January 1, 1881 216,438 19 

" " disposed of since January 1, 1881 40,468 19 

Total acres on hand, January 1, 1883 175,970 00 



152 Statistical Tables. 

3. — School La?ids. 

Total acres on hand, January 1, 1881 596,524 08 

" " Indemnity lands acquired since January 1, 1 88 1 43,745 99 



640,270 07 
Total acres disposed of since January 1, 1881 51,803 07 



Total acres on hand, January 1, 1883 588,467 00 

4. — Seminary Lands. 

Total acres on hand, January 1, 1881 35,75 s ° 2 

" " disposed of since January 1, 1881 1.938 02 



Total acres on hand, January 1, 1883 33,820 00 

5. — Recapitulation, On hand January 1, 1S83. 

Swamps and Overflowed Lands 8,781,051 55 

Internal Improvement Lands 175,970 00 

School Lands 588,467 00 

Seminary Lands 33,820 00 

Grand total 9,579<3° 8 55 

PRICES. 

Internal Improvement Lands $2 00 fo $7 00 per acre. 

School Lands, 16th Section, average 125 

" " Indemnity 1 25 to 250 ." 

Seminary Lands . . . . 1 25 to 10 00 

The unsold residue of Swamp and Overflowed Lands has all been 
granted to aid in the construction of railroads, and withdrawn from 
sale. 



XL— RAILROADS, CANALS, AND TELEGRAPH-LINES. 

' RAILROADS — COMPLETED. 

Atlantic, Gulf, and West India Transit (commonly known as the 
Transit Railroad) : Fernandina to Tampa and Charlotte Harbor, with 
branch to Cedar Keys. Completed, Fernandina to Cedar Keys, 155 
miles. 

Chattahoochee and East Pass : Climax (Ga.), on S. F. & W. R. R., 
to Gulf of Mexico, at or near East Pass. Completed, Climax to River 
Junction (Fla.), 30 miles. 

East Florida (commonly known as the Waycross Short Line) ■ 



Statistical Tables. 153 

Waycross (Ga.), on S. F. & W. R. R., to Jacksonville. Completed, 42 
miles. 

Florida Peninsular (commonly known as the Peninsular Road) : 
Waldo, on Transit R. R., to Ocala. Completed, 36 miles. 

Florida Central and Western (formerly Florida Central and Jack- 
sonville, Pensacola and Mobile Railroad) : Jacksonville to River Junc- 
tion, 209 miles, with branch to Monticello from Drifton, 4 miles, and 
branch to St. Mark's from Tallahassee, 21 miles — total, 234 miles. 
Completed, 234 miles. 

Fernandina and Jacksonville : Fernandina to Hart's Road, on 
Transit R. R., 21 miles. Completed, 21 miles. 

Florida Southern (formerly Gainesville, Ocala, and Charlotte Har- 
bor R.R.) : Georgia Line to Charlotte Harbor, with branch to Tampa, 
and branch to Palatka from Gainesville, 60 miles, and branch from 
Perry Junction, on Palatka branch, to Ocala, 31 miles. Completed, 
Palatka branch, 60 miles; Ocala branch, 31 miles; total, 91 miles. 
Main line from Gainesville to Georgia Line, building. 

Florida Tropical : Ocala to Charlotte Harbor, with branch toTampa, 
via Brooksville, 150 miles. Completed, Ocala to Wildwood, 26 miles. 
Tampa branch building. 

Jacksonville, St. Augustine, and Halifax River : Jacksonville to St. 
Augustine and Halifax River, 80 miles. Completed, Jacksonville to 
St. Augustine, 50 miles. 

Live Oak and Rowland's Bluff : Live Oak to Rowland's Bluff, on 
Suwanee River, 24 miles. Completed, 24 miles. 

Pensacola and Atlantic : River Junction on Apalachicola River, to 
Pensacola, 160 miles. Completed, 160 miles. 

Pensacola and Perdido : Pensacola to Millview, on Perdido River, 
9 miles. Completed, 9 miles. 

Pensacola and Louisville : Pensacola to Pensacola Junction, Mo- 
bile and Montgomery R. R., 36 miles. Completed, 36 miles. 

Savannah, Florida, and Western Railway — Florida branch : Du- 
pont, Ga., on S. F. & W. R. R., to Live Oak, 48 miles. Completed, 
48 miles. 

South Florida : Sanford to Kissimmee City, on Lake Tahopekaliga 
and Tampa, 150 miles. Completed, Sanford to Kissimmee, 40 miles. 

St. John's and Lake Eustis : Astor, on St. John's River, to Fort 
Mason, on Lake Eustis, 25 miles. Completed, 25 miles. 

St. John's Raliroad : Tocoi, on St, John's River, to St. Augustine, 
18 miles. Completed, 18 miles. 

Total, 1,045 miles. 



RAILROADS — BUILDING. 

Green Cove Springs and Melrose : Green Cove Springs to Melrose, 
Alachua County, 30 miles. 

International Railroad and Steamship Company : Georgia Line to 
Key West, with branch to Tampa, 450 miles. 



154 Statistical Tables. 

Jacksonville, Tampa, and Key West : Jacksonville to Key West, 
with branch to Tampa, 380 miles. 

Live Oak, Tampa, and Charlotte Harbor : New Branford, on 
Suwunee River, to Tampa and Charlotte Harbor, 240 miles. 

Orange Ridge, De Land, and Atlantic : De Land to Daytona or 
New Smyrna, 28 miles. 

Palatka and Indian River : Palatka to Aurantia, on Indian River, 
75 miles. 

St. John's and Halifax River : Rolleston to New Britain, 45 miles. 

Seville and Halifax River : Seville to Ormond, 50 miles. 

Silver Spring, Ocala, and Gulf: Silver Spring to Gulf of Mexico, 
40 miles. 

Thomasville, Tallahassee, and Gulf : Thomasville, Ga., to Talla- 
hassee and the Gulf, 100 miles. 

Tropical Peninsula : Ocala to Leesburg, Brooksville, and Tampa, 
with branch from Leesburg to Orlando, 130 miles. 

Tavares, Orlando, and Atlantic : Tavares to Titusville, 95 miles. 

Total projected, surveyed, and building, 1,663 miles. 



CANALS. 

Santa Fe Canal : Waldo, on Transit Railroad to Lake Santa Fe, 
10 1-2 miles. Completed. 

Florida Coast Line and Canal Transportation Company : Matanzas 
River, St. John's County, through Smith's Creek to the head of 
Halifax River, and from Mosquito Lagoon to Indian Eiver, 12 miles. 
Building. 

Atlantic and Gulf Coast Canal and Okeechobee Land Company : 
Head of Navigation on Caloosahatchee River, through Lake Okeecho- 
bee to Atlantic Coast, 80 miles Building 

Atlantic and Mexican Gulf Canal Company (known as the Barge 
Canal) : Fernandina to New Orleans, through St. Mary's River, Okee- 
finokee Swamp, Suwanee River, and inland water-ways to New Or- 
leans. 

Florida Ship Canal Company : St. John's River to the Gulf Coast. 

TELEGRAPH-LINES. 

International Ocean Telegraph Company : Lake City to Punta 
Rassa, with cable to Key West and Havana. 

Western Union Telegraph Company : On all lines of completed 
railroads 



Statistical Tables. 



«-S5 



d 
U 




*i 


b 

c 


















:.: 




s 


£ 


u 

u 


B 




— 



m 












■■-. 


_; 


C 


HI 






" 


O 


3 


< 


< 


£ 


uAcJ 



. McAlpir 
Pub. Co. 
Fildes. 
Fildes. 


Va; gian, 
of l'uij'n. 
rtson & R 

Pub. Co. 

Taylor. 

Fildes. 


« 2 

23 

0) M 


Mitchell. 

Hilton. 

. Rowley. 


b 
u 

5 
n 


-^ bo . 

B rt 1 — 


S h4 J J 


rj q£- S <& 


Nri 


P3M^ 


h 


■"^Hpp 




. • • 


if. 








CMCJU 


Jj^Uhh 


<o 


Pi d _l 


q 


0^ 



-2 = rt 3 « 


3 « 3 3 


pi 3 ~ 


> C u 


rt -r rt 2 


f a « « 


wo<o 


(«§<<! 



O — rt B fcjj £ 
JS 2 £ rt S « 



> s 



s i 



01 U U! 



£033 

rt-2.c j= 
8 «rr * * 

j g ffi < < 






P4 
W 
Ph 
<J 

Ph 



X 



S — rt • 



* S rt ° e 

B .— ^ O 

<1) rt O ^ Bi .— -r't3« 



o 



2 b > "5 cs "*> 
2 o J5 « J.a 

•cJ2-o I g-B 



£ 1 .2 



•2.W 



B ,S £ ,S 



rt gj 



&.C5 
£ *. 



H cqHffiO 



u 01 y u o 

" U !) tl II 



£££££ £ 



2 3 >,3 

m k •- a) 



3 "^ »i* 3 ^ 3 3 -^ 

O B O <1> <U 1) 1> <U 
<U O i> <D <U 1> <U <U 



-^ ^i -^ 
1) 11 <D 

DUO 



1) V (I u u 



£ £ "C E £ 

QC<QQ 



0000 

0000 
£ S E £ 

U II V (1 

CQQQ 



j 10 j 

yW o 

o ,0500 

£ n £ 'S £ £ 

w S 1> JS <" 1> 

Qa-Q^OQ 



■£ E 






E a.£ £ 

a v 'J 'J 

QP4QC 



$> i 



5 i 






i s ^ 



^: <t p > -~ 



5-^ 



tS! 



^ cqcqcqcq CS G 'o C C3 ^^ 






« 5 






S ^J^^)^ 



i 5 6 



Statistical Tables. 



« o o o • d, 

O >- >- M -w tt 1 


>. d 


^< 




3PQ 


£&-'.« 


c 

o 


wson I 
imead 
imead 
r. Pub 
W. Pr< 
W. K 


f§2 

1) 


lifax P 

Co. J 

. Harr 




Q^ 


C3 -^ ►— > 
Kp«H^ 


ffi 



o o d 



K 






w 

2 

H 
O 

U 



o 

H 
U 

w 

Pi 

I— I 

Q 

< 

Ph 
GO 



a S 

O 3 3 in - cj 

>QQOaO 



P-< (73 



"3 3 I- ° 
>PhO g 



a h«p 



p4 ^ D 









a tJ *j > 

«i a R f 



C/2 S § C/3 PQ *5 < 



a> .-a -a 




*J <U -j-» 








go 
R--B 


« <h 


<u o 


H *4 


hfe 



a "■> o 
,o c3.i£ o3 






3 >;3 ^S3 

<L1 -a <U <U <U <U 



<d <u 



^4 ^ rM 

0) <D <u 

<L) <U 0) 



£ £ £ 



1) <u 



3 3 3 3 3 3 3 

cj cj <u u <u u qj 

u D D D u y CJ 

££££££ £ 



o3 c3 o3 rt o3 d 

^ u u l-< s_. u 

o o o o o o 

o o o o o o 

S a £ S S 6 

CD CD <D 0) D 0) 

QQQQQQ. 



*j j-. *j cJ 



ci rt 


rt 


o o 


o 


o o 


r> 


s a s 


V ID 


<ij 


QQQ 



t3 • 



<; en 



d ri a, 



b a 

fifl 



o o ^, 

o o g o OK 
S 2 s S 6 a 

U D ^ U l) O 

OQ^QRU 



S c S S S S 




^ 






o a ^ ^ -"i 5> 
^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ E 



Statistical Tables. 



157 




5 o « oj ■<= 2 



u 







Q 
W 

£> 

H 

•z 
o 
u 



O 
H 
U 

w 



H 



« g bd 






•E 

•3 



<d /a ~ 11 :s - s ?i 
— c/> rt ~ e " 2 
g =3 > S c J- c . 






7! >"> 

_• l> <u O 

W5U 



J £< * a £ 



W-3 



<J «! X, £ <U w 

J U— u d c! 






<> < 2 



_ u c bi r 1 c 



>C/3 i^fri H H-.C/3 1 



;6s 




j^j^j^ _^,>>_>r>j^j^>,>» >?>?>> :>>>»>, >->_>> >->j>^,>>,>< 






^ ^ ^ 

V <u « 

t) 'J » 



o y a; o o aj 
u u u <u v qj 



dj U O mm D4)VaJUU4)4)flj 
fli flj n» "-1 qj Q) qj ^ iy qj $) D u 



£££ ££££££ £££Q£££££££££ 



g g 

DO 



Sec 

acc 



rt <i rt a -M ctf 

!_ m 1- M. - U, 

o o o o C o 

o o o o « o 

£ E E E- E 
v u v V uiv 

qodq<:c 



rt rt rt ■ c3 ^, ri 03 

>- M M . l_ — I- ki 

oooSot-oo 
QQQ^Q^QQ 



(J O O U 

0000 

g g g s 

« u u u 

QPQQ 



O << 



s 3 s 



a i 






jr. 



O a 



b 



^ N b„ V S 



3 5^> 

r'** ?• ^» .^ ,^ ;-^ 

Vj C^ C/J ;•; Or tQ 









££1 



iNSK 



158 . Statistical Tables. 



XIII.— CHURCH ORGANIZATIONS. 

ROMAN CATHOLIC. 

Bishop — Rt. Rev. John Moore, D.D., St. Augustine. Churches, 
13; priests, secular, 11; religious women (including novices and 
postulants), 66 ; ecclesiastical students, 5 ; chapels, 10 ; stations 
visited, 70 ; convents, 9 ; academies, 8 ; parochial schools, 16 ; 
Catholic population, 15,200. 

PROTESTANT EPISCOPAL. 

Bishop — Rt. Rev. John Freeman Young, Jacksonville. Churches 
and missions, 42 ; rectories, 10 ; value of church property, $184,- 
006.28; priests and deacons, 24; membership — Episcopal population, 
5,362 ; communicants, 1,642. 

. METHODIST EPISCOPAL. 

President of Conference — Bishop Stephen M. Merrill, D.D , Chi- 
cago, 111. Churches, 58 ; parsonages, 12 ; value of church property, 
$11,240 ; preachers, 6t, ; membership, 2,695. 

METHODIST EPISCOPAL (SOUTH). 

President of Conference — Bishop H. H. Kavanaugh, St. Louis, Mo. 
churches, 160 ; parsonages, 34 ; value of church property, $147,360; 
preachers, 161 ; membership, 14,117. 

BAPTIST. 

President of Convention — Rev. W. N. Chaudoin, Jacksonville. 
Churches, 368; white ministers, 152; colored ministers, 74; white 
membership, 10,054; colored membership, 13,168 — total, 23,222. 

PRESBYTERIAN. 

Churches, 13 ; ministers, 11 ; membership, 285 ; value of church 
property, $25,500 — total contributions, $2,550. 

PRESBYTERIAN (SOUTH). 

Churches, 41; ministers, 21 ; membership, 1,450; Sunday-school 
teachers and pupils, 1,054 ; total contributions, $16,657. 



Statistical Tables. 



159 



XIV.— MASONIC AND OTHER SOCIETIES. 

FREE AND ACCEPTED MASONS. 

Grand Master — M. W. Zelotes H. Mason, Apopka, Orange 
County. Lodges, 75 ; membership, 1,139. 

Lodges. 




Jackson 

Washington 

Harmony 

Joppa 

Hiram 

Tuscan 

Bronson 

Pine Hill 

Waldo 

Madison 

Cherry Hill. .. 

Welborn 

Dade , 

Escambia , 

Santa Rosa.. . . , 

Perry 

Duval 

Marion 

Solomon 

Gee 

Withlacoochee 
Enterprise. . . . 

Naval 

Hillsborough . 

Alachua 

Lake City .... 

Gadsden 

Micanopy 

Orange City. . . 

Manatee 

Callahan 

Jefferson 

Palatka 

Orange 

St. John's .... 

Chipola 

Citra 

Orion 

Bradford 

Barrett 

Hay ward , 

Providence 

Amelia , 

Fort Dade. . . . 
Marston. 

Shiloh 

Brown 

Lake Butler. . , 



W. MASTERS. 



2 
3 

4 
5 
6 

7 

9 
10 
ir 
12 
13 
14 
15 
16 

17 

iS 

*9 

20 
21 

22 

23 

24 
25 
26 
27 
28 
29 
30 
31 
32 
33 
34 
36 
37 
33 
39 
40 
42 
43 
45 
46 

47 
48 

49 
50 
51 
52 



Jacob R. Cohen. . . . 
Edw. B. Jordan. 
Theophilus West . . . 
W' m - M. Sanders. . . 
Thos. W. Conrad . . 

Streety Parker 

Lazarus B. Lewis 

Wm, F. Malphus. . . 
Sam'l J. Kennard... 
R. M. Witherspoon. 

Jason Truluck 

Jno. W. Campbell.. 
Jeremiah Fogarty . . . 

E. A. Perry 

Robt. R. Sheppard. 

Sam'l D. Waller 

Thos. S. Wilmarth . 

William Fox 

Wm. A. McLean. . . 

Wiley B. Sims 

Joshua T. Godfrey. . 

Seth S. Bennett 

Geo. S. Hallmark . . 
Duff Post 

F. P. Olmstead 

W. T. Bacon 

W. C. Hendry 

J. f . Miller 

S. C. Fuller 

J. C. Pelot 

G. W. Hodges 

J. B. Roch 

B. L. Lilienthal 

G. L. Jones 

A. L. Willman 

A. Scott 

H. T, Wartmann . . 

A. McMillan 

L. W. Kickliter. . . . 

W. F. Bynum 

L. J. Brush 

H. J. Dowling 

J. E. Wandell 

J. G. Wallace , 

J. W. Stevens 

A. J. Lea. 

N. R. Carter 

G. W. Epperson . 



ADDRESS. 



Tallahassee Leon. 

Quincy ... Gadsden. 

Marianna Jackson. 

McCrab La Fayette. 

Monticello Jefferson. 

Bartow Polk. 

Bronson Levy. 

Starke Bradford. 

Waldo J Alachua. 

Madison : Madison. 

Mikeville Columbia. 

Welborn Suwanee. 

Key West Monroe. 

Pensacola Escambia. 

Milton Santa Rosa. 

Perry Taylor. 

Jacksonville Duval. 

Ocala Marion. 

Jacksonville Duval. 

Chattahoochee Gadsden. 

Bellville Hamilton. 

Enterprise Volusia. 

Warrington Escambia. 

Tampa Hillsborough. 

Newnansville Alachua. 

Lake City Columbia. 

Concord Gadsden. 

Micanopy Alachua. 

Orange City Volusia. 

Manatee Manatee. 

Callahan I Nassau. 

Waukeenah I Jefferson . 

Palatka I Putnam. 

Apopka Orange. 

De Land ' Volusia. 

Greenwood Jackson. 

Citra Marion. 

Vernon Washington* 

Starke Bradford. 

Live Oak Suwanee. 

Ellaville Madison. 

Providence Bradford. 

Femandina Nassau. 

Fort Dade Hernando. 

Fort McCoy '.. . Marion. 

Hamburg Madison. 

Levyville ' Levy. 

Lake Butler Bradford. 



i6o 



Statistical Tables. 
Lodges. — Continued. 



Friendship 

Old Walton .... 
Orange Spring . 
Campoelkon .. .■ 

Leesburg 

King's Ferry. . . 

Daw kins 

Putnam 

Mellon ville 

Dr. Felix Varela 
Fort Mason. . . . 

Pine Level 

Ezra j . . . . 

Orlando 

Orient 

Suwanee 

Troy. ... 

Cedar Keys. . 
Green Cove Sp. 
Ancient City. . . 

Volusia 

Star 

Ebenezer 

Pine 

Stella 

Landmark 

Pine Land 



53 

54 
56 

57 
5S 

59 
60 
61 
62 
64 

65 
66 
67 
69 
70 
7i 
73 
74 
75 
76 

77 
73 

79 

82 

83 



W. MASTERS. 



M. S. Moser 

J. W. Baggett . . 
J. S. Livingston. 
A U. Hamilton. 
John C. Love. . . 
C. P. Russell . . . 
J. R. Herndon . 
S E. Timmons . 

J. J. Harris 

M. M. Escassi . . 
B. Dawd. ...... 

J. D. Hapgood. . 

H. Starrett 

R. J. Gillham. . . 

L. F. Frink 

R. W. Adams... 

R. B. Hill 

W. H. Anderson 
J. W. DeWitt... 
J. T. Gordon . . . 
J. M. Chesser. . . 

B. McMullan 

W. S. Knight . . 
H. E. Martin... 
G. H. Thorn.... 

J. W. Payne 

J. P. Boyd 



Cotton Plant 

Otahite 

Orange Spring 

Campbeluon 

Leesburg 

King's Ferry 

Sanderson . . . 

Banana 

Sanford 

Key West 

Lake Eustis 

Pine Level 

Tisonia 

Orlando 

Jasper 

White Spring 

New Troy 

Cedar Keys 

Green Cove Springs . . 

St. Augustine 

Volusia 

Bay View 

Cork 

Whitesville 

Fruitland 

Lake City 

Palatka 



Marion. 

Santa Rosa. 

Marion. 

Jackson. 

Sumter. 

Nassau. 

Baker. 

Putnam. 

Orange. 

Monioe. 

Orange. 

Manatee. 

Duval. 

Orange. 

Hamilton. 

Hamilton. 

La Fayette. 

Levy. 

Clay. 

St. John's. 

Volusia. 

Hillsborough. 

Hillsborough. 

Marion. 

St. John's. 

Columbia. 

Putnam. 



INDEPENDENT ORDER OF ODD FELLOWS. 

Grand Master — M. W. Jos. Y. Porter, Key West, Monroe County. 
Lodges, 12 ; membership, 4x6 ; reliefs, 1882, $1,521.75 ; annual re- 
ceipts, $5,884 46 ; weeks' sickness benefits, 1882, 137. 

Lodges. 



NAME. 


NO. 


N. G. 


ADDRESS. 


COUNTY. 




I 

2 

3 
4 
5 
6 

7 
S 

13 
15 
16 

17 


Sam. F. Roberts . . . 

J. E. Merrell 

C. A. Bradley 

J. C. Avery 

Julius Ball 






Union 


Waldo 






Monticello 


Jefferson. 








Leon. 


Joppa 

Mechanics' ... 


H. S. White 

Jos. Bartlum 

Geo Clark 

S. W. Carroll 


Warrington 

Key West 


Escambia. 
Hillsborough. 
Escambia. 
Monroe. 


Key West 


Monroe. 




Tlaville 


Madison. 






Hamilton. 



Statistical Tables. 161 



SONS OF TEMPERANCE. 



C. C. McLean, G. W. P., Jacksonville; W. N. Sheats, Grand 
Scribe, Gainesville. 

Subordinate Divisions, 15, located at Jacksonville and its suburbs, 
Bronson, Cedar Keys, and Kingsley's Lake. 



GOOD TEMPLARS. 

This organization is entirely in the hands of the colored people, 
and is operated under the British Grand Lodge. They have a Grand 
Lodge, and numerous subordinate lodges, all over the State. In almost 
every station, circuit, and mission of the M. E. Church, South, there 
are organized Temperance Unions actively at work. 

KNIGHTS OF HONOR. 

Albert J. Russell, Grand Dictator, Jacksonville ; Henry J. Stewart. 
Grand Vice Dictator ; Henry Frye, Assistant Grand Dictator ; W. 
J. Woodward, Grand Reporter, Fernandina. 

Lodges, 15 ; at Jacksonville, Fernandina, Jasper, Madison, Palatka, 
Gainesville, Pensacola, Warrington, Blackwater, Fort Meson, and 
Ocala. 

Membership, about 400. 

AMERICAN BIBLE SOCIETY. 

Rev. J. L. Lyons, Jacksonville, Superintendent for Georgia and 
Florida. Local agents, 18. 

STATE SUNDAY-SCHOOL ASSOCIATION. 

Rev. T. W. Moore, Monticello, President. 

Sunday-schools, 730 ; teachers, 3,500 ; pupils, 25,100 ; county 
organizations, 9. 



l62 



Statistical Tables. 



C/3 




u 




t— i 


o 


H 


00 
00 


C/3 


►H 


i— l 


<-> 


H 




< 


C5 


H 




C/3 






■v* 




<sl 


> 


^ 


t-H 


8 


£ 


^ 


|3 


1 


o 


s 


u 


^ 


1 


,^ 


1 


In 


> 




X 





•spunoj 



•SUO[[BO 



I I R-l I I.I 



O *A M ■* O O **■ 



NO U1+ COCO N 

« n« h « n n 



m o 

CO CO 



co ^ t-% c7> co o 



■tn^OMco 



o> w « t~o o •* 
co •* t^ M M « t^ 

oco 10 m m ro o 



NO+*BlO 0"1N« Old 



I u->00 "<l-CO C-* COCO 



tx fHO (O M 00X3 



>0\0 VOMQOCMOCONO 



'puaqsSojj 



■si3H sn a 



•spqsng 



I w 1 I 00 VO M *£> N M 

I ro I I m r-vo ro m 



m co "*■ co ■*■ t *o in »n ovo 



OfflW o ^ ^00 



no* M co o ro c 

O ■*■ »0 -«- -* rt CO ' 

* -*■ O O ■•*- *^^0 
in in o" ro O e 



cah\o r^ « vo ro*o ro t 

COMM-^M00»OO C 



H MD ^O M 



) CO »0»0 O I *0 



f CO >o 



•spqsng 






•UJ03 
•spt[sna 



■uon°3 

•soj^a 



' 3n l B A 



r-* ■*- o o o o 

CO CO M O V O CO 

t-- moo m ro moo 


*o in 


'O 


ro O in m 
•*r o r- t^ <o 


O. O>O0 NVC 
invo "O co m ro 

n O N N N M 




ro 


w m ro 


H 


VO 
H 


m uo mo 


CO N i^CMn* 


in 


CH 



\o to CO o 



h « M« t^VO 



O Ch LOCO o 






-t Mfi lO st^wf COM M « C> O\*0 "*• 



f^' 

M V 



r~. moo ro » 



> t> o o t- t-» 



■S33JJ. SuUB3a 



O O 



r^co 6 O O 



o o o 
p o 



O Ch o O O 

to O m 

- N_ -a- co co c^ 

« ■* M 



roco CO r^ •«*- I 



>5«ffliSo o moo 5 

jy^VO^O IO0 O >- 10-^0 



rd -^ 









ra* * c.^ o 

15. S g2 Co » c o >, 

« 5 & S rt S S.-s'o «« rt = C-2 ^^,2 ° « 



Statistical Tables. 



163 



•oODcqox 
•spiinoj 



I I I S%?\ I 



•spunoj 



o o mo "> 

*- Q O « N 

eC » \n ■*oo* 



ko o c q S!"£t 

Qio o o 00 <*\ 
M 00^*0 O " ^ 



■sassB[oj^ y JBSng 

•SUO|[B9 



•.reSng 
•peaijsSojj 



w OCO r**.\o 0*0 *o o* >n 01 *o 
*#-\o r^ <7- o r^*o w «*- moo m 
000 rod *r\o o »/l ■<■ O •"■ 






"SaOJtJJOJ 333Mg 

•sjeqsng 



o fO 000 w w o M 



1 at r* o» i 

o' a w * o' « h t> ^ « 



•S301EJO,! i[suj 
•sjaqsnjj 



•s[3ijsr.g 



•sjbo 
•sjDqsng 



•UJ03 
■spqsng 



•uo}}03 

•S3jB a 



•PWA 





r^ r^ 


M IO ITJOO »0 


*0 OO 



.f^oNO n tfiH «o >ns 

; O 0_ CKOO O00 O O^ M «_ »^ 
«* 0> ro <>«xT (> c> « o' O f* 



*0 O* •* H *0 w> • 



1 r*.*o 10 o f-oo 



»oo6o u ">oo 
"^ o °, ^o^o o 



•S33-IJ, 3UUK3^ 



t o ^o is. so oo no 



L> _, ^ rt U 

ir o 3 ^ 3 3 3 .a 



'^'3 



2.S 



■ZZ; 



1.64 



Statistical Tables. 








P 


M 

Ot) 


i£ 


CO 


H 


M 


fc 


1 


o 
U 


R 
5> 


1 


«« 


I 


<3 


CO 


<? 


U 


I? 


1— 1 


H 




rfl 


'S 


»— t 


a 


H 


<-> 


< 


<-> 


H 


^ 


t/j 


1 


>• 


S 



"[ B 5 a X 'uotiBnjv;^ 



O roco in mco oooo O vo in ov *« o h tJ-0 n h K co O co 
o - « ■nNOwoo tcj-hh^ invo vo m covo m « -*• ^- -f m 
oo ^ t- n n trig ■*** invo o*m in-^-c^.'-' h vo ro o* m h ^i. ° "■*" 
co m Ov covo t-^. t^. ^ o O O in o^O co ho? nio mc>fi w oci co 
vo co - o o r>»vo vo 0> N VO mVO Os^O uio N m o w o\vo 



cr> co co Ov t-* Ov ( 






CTs « vO VO 



VO O OCO r>.vo 



n ovco o ^-sroNO coo ■* mo h nmn o i 

t-^WCO COC1VO CON f^OOO •**- t-* m « fO h. NO O < 

o»CM3ino^Nnoco « o -^- o> ^vo h»o o -tci o < 
Ovco cj *-* o m* m" ovoo oo rovo" in tP tCco vo \o coco h u 
O a»w -^-OVO »n m in &\o ro VO vo vo « i 
■"j-aHNCONIftCO^COH^CO t}-In.O^' 






■spuirj 'uop^nj^^ 



•sajDy ajtfSa-iSSy 



•sajoy paAOjduij 



•uoi^n;B^_ 



•aui.ttg 





in n 


t^ o 
-f Os 


m m • o co coco O0 00t-.minmtnooo 
• r*. *<*• • ovco o minino ■«*■ n ^- « hi vo m --vo 
' sn ■ O ^oo « r>. CO w n t^ ovo in « CO 


co 

H o 


M CO 




• mm d h M owo H \o CO m Hi CO ro 

co « mco ^INM IN o COCO 00 
M M t>-VO M M H -*" M 


N H 


t^ 

H CO 
H 00 


«©■ 




W M 






CO « 

vo' M 


Ov M 

■^-VO 


m w ^ o Ov inco Tt-o t^M o>m« mui-tmN 
in h in o. co o\ co w rovo ^^o\h o^-3-inTt- mco 
r^. inco -^- ■*■ <n mvo o m m o onco o NN-t^^ 


O ro 


Cv r*- O OVO VO CS « r-t^O-r^^M t- CM rovo O -*• OWO vo « 
IN COCO SN 0) vo m^M tN,rOCO^sCO COVO N CO H W NM 

com rotM fl- 1 * ^ -*■ vo rj-vo vo ^oin h nmm m 


as- 












<£> 











O t*s c 



vo t»- covo i>. -^-oo m ts n co vo oo oo tN^N r^o « inO^ooocovo 
) o. coco r- ci "* cn ian m^o m t^.vo o> -<f « « O moo O Q 
m vo co n coco co coco ovo vc t-» m hi ro m roco oooo n 
> tj- o\ a o m o\ o^o co mvo no o covo ^o co *-■ o oco 
~ "O o n co ^vo co G\ m invo 
«rOHico"^-co« ro 



CM 






* ^9. 21 ^^ w w o t 



m vo H Ov 
^ vo CO W N 

^ t *Ci ^- ^t "^ c ^ co ^ 

-*HrHTo'o>crHrH*^f 



I VO t^.CO M Q "O CO W t^. 



H-. ro t-*co o nhoo ovo oh h-.com h m o O^h^Hmo OvO 
inOcocoomM roo^o m t^mc* mvo r*vo ro tj- h moo oo o *o 
t^rot^t-'^-O "-< hco tN.« roo n u- o h m-oo oco voco ^-mo 



i « •* ■*■ « 



tN. o O o> M m rt-VO co vo co vo o vo 



r-*vo Nino ^-O 



*SJK">0 pUV d33t|S 



Ov \0 ^ Ov ! vo 



3JD01S P UE ^ B3 N 



" S3 l n IV 
pu^ ''sassy 1 s3sjojj 



>«co m mo ^f 
^j- ro o mo <n vo 
h ^- ro nvo m m 


• COCO « C* M MflOOC «M (tCO 

• ^NN M C-.00 w o ^ « o *o cs 

• C^ « 0> -^-OO mNT 't N -^-(HVO 


Ov*« 
O ro ^ 
O w 


•* ro 
ro v 


OvO d4»ON H ' 


vo iomvo t^-^-0 mtM m rovo hj 


"S- CO 


t^ 



rs-vo mm" r^tN.m^-« 



_ ■'t-vo « Ov « ovoo ro * covo 

10 N M tN NVO M M M 



•**• « m vo vo n -*■ mvo n ^co 



iiv"^o cam w ovrni 



C O* 13 2* 






« « roMcocovovo m ^t- oco o r^ m m mvo noo nh mco o vo 
vo n o t^. t*>.vo m m mvo «h m t>. roco t«* ov « co m -^ i^vo h« r^ o 
vo vo •**■ w ■* oco vo^ co « o vo oo r^OC^ O ""vo M m -^-vo n o h 
co ro ov m ro ^i-ooT -<c* vow mocom n c^vo -■£ w mT oi <> 



. a « 



kwSSSSS 



Statistical Tables. 



105 



•|C50X 'uopenpsA 






O vO « O "1 nO O i^wo 
« mo fl « 1000 »h u">m»-t m 
m ns»nnCh onvo^ -*; x>_ q_ « vo_ 

O »ooo n on -»• rooo iTiiON HOO 
NO PQvO I**' O '♦GO C* C* w -^- C) M 



</> 



<«- h moo «_ m f "2 5_ c> w c» n 
ro c-nCO d> ^ "i o nmco r-^vo fO 
c* t^oo 000 r^^-^*-0 01 <n ^-m 



•sio-i X3}3 pus 



. <«- i/>, *■ -<*- N CO r^i 

»«0 v© no 000 t*.( 



•nrsNf^i N 1 



sputrj l uoijrnjK^ 



nmnN on r*. m »o n m « Ovco 

N « ■«*■ r» r^-cO h\OM O v~i e-- N 
t ^ n ^ mfOO ^- MO*M O^ On 

m cT moo 00 tCm^cTM in in ov 
m- uro ro rn m f* 00 m r*. o-no t 
t^.co roONCOf>rnrNMC0 « 



•sajoy sjieSajSSy 



On m OvOO v~i . NO CO CO CO f» 

fomoco 0\ . « « in o> « 



r>. r^. o tN.\o 



« « MM 



•sajoy pSAOJduij 



1 rr, rn 1 
On N 1 



I Ov ■*• . On tn Onco 

fN. r*».\0 , "N vO NO iO 

0_ M 0, . NM M NO_ 

> to «-T o" * cToo rn m" 



•uoiiBnjBjY 



'SUIMg 



o> On « t^<o ^o 



CO On •*• *nvO CO CO 

O ^ CO « ^ CO IACO m 
m r^ tN. on w ♦ ^00) 



» vo -*-co MO(nn\*vo 

) OWO lO ♦ m t^» O fN. M 



w on *n m i-* o »n on * 
t^co on r>w r^. rs.00 no "' 



•sii30£) pue daang 



I ON On m ^- o ■* I 
_ "f *«-» no vN M I 
nOvo tN»""tM N CO CO fONO 1 



3pOjg pUtf JB3^ 



N vC M O* m 



t^CO t^.NO 

mo NnNtiorOH 
rood tN.*t*ONO On»-<no'n"( 



pun 'sassy 'sasaofj 



« rovO C« « moo 
Tf t»-vo N « " ~ 



VO fOvO CO VO t^. 1 



0> -^ O M 



:«* 



S5f '."OajSo'Js 
c v c — 1 2 ti 5— a_5 



c o 



165 



Statistical Tables. 




Statistical Tables. 



167 



pus 351215 'ajeSoiSSy 



o« -*■ m Q ♦■ O* -"J- m ♦ w « o^o *o » 
so 10 OsCO O C--CO t- W Os r* CO ■<)- t-% co»© 

CO N « "♦ W sO «M\C t^f» ♦ O00 N O 

SO COSO rOHCO hco - «CO CO N CO SO « 

"ico h coso m o t»» « m^o co t^vo 
xA cToo* "' ^O^o ■♦mine ioO>o men 






(■*. o* o « c^oo 00 osso 



I t-s. t>. It »/} **» « 



O.N m co (n ViO O V « ** i 



'jupadg l x^x ^unco 



m 
o « 



o 



OifO« o t-» ( 



N 



mo w 00 o o> os ■*co t-* « ■♦ co 

&\o t-> •-< Non** r^co 00 vo 

m <o « « «-< o t-«.co m h Nno> 

■to 0_s o^ocno_ c^u 1 ;^ e^s©, h 

>0 O n h sC CO H « m" 



"jooips *xbx ^JunoQ 



os co ■•*• co o 



mo o^^^t-'^-fntN.u-ttN, 



uodojj xbx ^;uno3 



o o 



) M O tX ( 



0« w CO O O 



On Oi 



ICO O^N 



) O* CO OsCO »o 

i0 o rn o m 00 o^so -*■ ro 

._. m « co M u-.co CMJO fO 

< CO O I s * W txVO ♦ »Oso o o so *o o 

wo toso •* of tC ro\o" m m fO "*i m* h" «^ 



1 moo 



'xb x ^J^IS WvSatSSy 



hcooo h o\o (i >n 1000 o> m « co t*» co 

i-N «CO ^O H 9 OsCO ^N^On 

o o-^o ia) o m m h ro ^-co o."0 m m o 
00 ♦■ « m o w t»- cooo co 0\co r-* coo « 

o^-+co<nroocococo m *»" « m m mso 
-r> c-* r*. m tC m «"so' eC d» o* m'co w" «" m" 



"3»X l 001 !^ P»J3U3Q 



1 o o o ■* ► 



. *S? 



c^ 



♦ so o>co o o> o ■«*• '♦CO 5 N CO 

ts» Os f^ **• r^co so O^so 

.. m ■* roco m m « h o» 

f 0_ COSO t; Os *CO_ <1^ M M -4- co h 
M m N H*HH M* 



> \o o o mco « 



00 c 



) so '♦CO « vO 



*3UU3A3^J ]UJ3U3f) 



Os m co w o m»H m ro os ♦so m t^. t^so 

O m n r^ i/l^O ro-^ror^^-Ost^osw ♦ 
t-.M « ♦■mmmM ro^-n w m o -w« 
9? ^- °^ °jl ® (Y>M O^fON O ♦Os« ■*■ 

\6 m 10 o^ ♦ ««? m" mso* tCoo*" m" tC m* ei" m" 



«.§2 3m , 
1 a £ £ 






™ n u ffl uq 3 ' M 3 g A " a 



i63 



Statistical Tables. 



o 

CO 
CO 



C/3 

in 
U 



in 

(—4 

E- 
co 

13 

Q 



»— i 

H 
U 



> 

X 







a 

o 


8 


8 




8 


8 




8 




8 


8 


8 


o 
o 




o o 


O 




8 


in 


r-. o 






o « o 


OO 


o 




« o 






In. 


« 


in 


m 




VO^ 


















sjDnpojj jo anjB^ 


co" m" in 


m 


& 


in 


t>. 


■«j- in 


0- 
CO 




«% 







« 


M "" 


io ■* 


ce- 




8 8 8 


8 


8 


8 


8 


: 8 


8 







o 


ro 


8 


fN, 


' 


o 


•pasn 


moo 

f- IT) 


ON 


5 


o 


: 5 




s[Buajej^ jo anjBA. 


r^i 10 


tC 


tC 


* 


in 


• d\ 


0~ 




«©■ M 


CO 


O 


o 




o> 


•* 






« 


M ' 








0_ 




8 8 8 


o 
o 


8 


o 
o 


8 


8 8 


o 

o 




o g g 


in 





g 





c^ in 


I-* 






io 







in 


M t^ 




•p3}S3AUJ JBJldB^ 


00 t-- 


VO 


IT) 


in 


tv 




t-^ 






■*■ 


Ol 


8" 


« VO 


o 




<©• " 


M 




lO 


O t- 










N 




•♦ 


•* M 


o. 








ci 






< 


#• 




8 8 8 


8 


8 


8 






: 8 


o 

o 




oo m g 


r-* 


o 





VO 


• 




'Xfpmu 


■^- m o 


N 


CI 





VO 




f» 


-uy piBj; S33bav IBJox 


« "i 


CI M 


o> 


C? 


. o\ 


o 




«■ 




m 




■* 


< 




•paXojduijf 


o en 






CO 

in 


1 

moo 

m co rn c 

M •* to 


o 


suosjaj jo aaquinj^ 


' 




s 




cf 


■T 


cC 


■sjuaui 


0> M W 






o 


in 


in n 


3 


-ijsijqBjsg jo jsqtunj^i 












1- 


w 






























H 






























u 






























D 






























Q 






























o 






























« 






























Pm 




















*! «. 
























4) 


a o. 


5 m 








a 






u 
a 


■e 




c 

a 


S2 k 

at 


3 • 






H £ "g 

T* U 

3 & c 


v 




u 


hO u 


■o 






1 5 




3 

H 

-o 
B 


3 ■[ 

8' J 


a — 

1-1 Cl 

u c 
1 ^ 






■* B ° 


u. XI 




n 








.H « ti 


3 s 




Ih 


-° -5 








u J3 a 




C3 


o .£ 








n 


U 


CJ 




f* 


-1 




H 




H 


fa 


<! 







i a 



>» 3 






i> »i s 

3 c 3 

o " S 



S s Li 

{J 3 H 

• M 1) 1^-1 

.2 -a ° 

« t! S 

S ^ 3 

■" J3 o 

>, m i« 

is «' 3 

|.2 § 

"O cj B 

o « 

« « -a 

« S M 

in 2 ■" 

M 1» jc* 

u > *J 

.*?« « 

— "3 2 

o a 6 

o fe '£ 

3 B « 

■^ HH 1A 

3 . w 

B £> • 

« rS *2 

•a u. )D 

H ^ 5 

* *> in" 

"O «> 



Statistical Tables. 



169 



•8313P 



coco-tf-^-t^tvr^o.t'-c^-'J**' 



•SJBp 

Hjxm -wdt z; ib ajnj 
-BJaduiaj uinunuij^ 



c* roc* m woo c» tfiwn tU3 

MM M tt N W M 



mmtifiN c~oo t^oo t-^ m in 



1 « -4 ro*0 "" 



■ajep 
qjiAi '»'v ^ jb ajnj 
-BJaduiaj umunuij^ 



•3}Bp 

qjiM 'Wd 6 jb ajnj 
-Ejadiuaj uinuiixBj^ 



ajBp 

IJJIAl 'WJ I JB ajnj 

-Bjaduiaj iunuj;xBi«j 



WW *-J- f^ O rod MVOW 1 

coco-'i-Ti-r^r^c^r-^ r^*o co 1 






'OCO M t^vo M « o o w \o ■* 
*0 O l^CO CO OlOOl COO r* C-* 



nmco^ ■«*■ w 00 ro co o o w 



co r^\o 00 o^os + * t--co *o 
t^ t^ t^oo o c* d on 000 t^ c-* 



•3JBp 
qjIM "IW i JB 3JI1J 

-BJadmaj umui;xBj«j 



•qjuoui aqj joj ajnj 
-BJaduiaj ub3ui Ajiep aSBjaAy 



•imm 6 je ipuoui aqj 

JOJ 3JtlJBJ3dui3l UE3UI j([JBQ 



•Wd z jb qjuoui aqj 
joj ajnjBjaduiaj uEaui Xjibq 



•ivv Z jb qjuoui aqj 
joj ajnjBJsdiuai ubsui Xjibq 



" 00 O •' ~ 



■"**0 CO *0 VO N Ct 00 WOO 
VO t^ t^OO CvoO 00 00 00 t*» c^^o 



M WUU4-I^J«J*0 M UUt_> 

0*0 -r m C\ n w 000 ^ , 



U1 IOVO NO C^CO 00 00 CO t"*VO o 



m \r>*o o r^co 00 00 00 c*.*© 



m m\o r^co 00 00 00 00 00 c^>o 



co w m*o 



I IOVO t-%00 co NSM 



• • 3 5-° H F 
£u«a«5-=3S-uou 



« S 



I/O 



Statistical Tables. 



p 

w 

g 

H 
S5 

O 

u 



O 

u 

w 

u 

I— I 

o 
o 
l-J 
c 
p< 
o 
w 

H 



Q 

M 

P4 

o 
S 

H 

O 



•33Bp 

qjiAV Mfj 6 jb ajnj 
-Eiaduiaj uiiiuituij\[ 



lO OOO ^J-O -*"*■« "»t> 
■ in^O \0>O NNK r~*o •**• I 



-BJaduiaj 



•ajEp 
; je sari] 



eft T3 w j-> 4J Tj Ifl *J Ift *J *J 



CO CO ^O CO M mlO CO CO IQ -<*- -<*- 



•dw-a'S'a'S'Ow'S-a' 

« M IS « « W « 



•ajsp 
qjiAi 'icv / jb ami 
-BJaduiaj uinuiiuij^ 



icoOwroOWNOcorOM 
T CO IOVO >0 SNN l>.lO "J- CO 



•3JBp 

q;tAi 'Wj 6 jb ajrq 
-BJaduiaj umuiiXEj\i 



•3?Bp 

qjIAl -WJ Z 3B SJtlJ 

-B-iadtuaj umniixBj^ 



•BJBp 

-BJaduiaj umunxBj^ 



•qjuoui sip joj a.mj 
-BJaduiaj UEaui XjiBp aSBjaAy 



1*0 *J -*J ~> "C (ft *J ■*-> 4-» 4-» 

< mv r^vo w w h in o oo 



CO « OCO Q VOOO CK -*VO UO 

in in cn t^co 00 oo 00 oo co oo t-* 



AAA-.AAAA&Ji*>Ji 
in m o Cl CiNNOi + M H o 



in o co*o omowo^OM-i- 

t^COOOCO O O O O OCO CO IN. 



cnoo - ota » s o^o m h co 



o « ■>i->o o ■* o « o <o coco 
t-. c^ r^ tNOO co co co co r^ in.so 



A 4-* -tjjS^^jd^,^^ u ( 

O0MM0C^CI^O\t^-M 



*OVOIO tN I 



in in in r^vo 



•MM 6 ]B qjuoui aqj 
joj ajnjBJaduiaj UEaui Xjibq; 



'H'j z 3B qjuoui aqj 
joj ajnjEJadiuaj UEaui a"i;bq; 



NOVO NNIsNSNts c~\o in 



«\D IN CNCO CO CO 00 CO I 



'W'v /C IB qjuoui aqj 
joj ajniBjaduia} UEaui Xjibq 



in in*o ^o nsnn cn*o vo in 



. « E_g B B 
§5 b'C be' ^§>£2 > S 
•-J* <=i <! «h 1 — 1' — »-< w O !? P 



<! K 



Statistical Tables. 



171 



o 

w 

g 
H 

O 

u 



G 
P4 
O 

u 

w 

•J 

u 

I— ( 

o 
o 

o 
Pi 
o 
w 



< 
c 

I— < 

o 
o 



qiiM -w.{ 6 jk ami 
-Ejaduiaj tunuiiuij^ 



« ~ T3 



•31Bp 

-Ejaduiaj uinujiuij^ 



•ajEp 
qjIM -iM-v Z jb sjnj 
-Ejaduiai uinui;ui]\[ 



■3JBp 

qjiM -km 6 jb ajnj 
-Biaduiaj iunuiixBj\j 



■ajcp 
qjt.w -nm e jb ajnj 
-Bjaduiaj uinuiiXBj^ 



•ajsp 

IjJIM "WV Z IB 3JIU 

-eiaduiaj uinoi|XBi^ 



■qjnoin am joj ajnj 
-BJaduiaj uBaui X]iEp a2BJ3Ay 



** «-» *» *0 w 



£ 



t^ t^ CO 



•Wd 6 jb qjuoui aqj 
joj ajnjBjaduiaj usaui A|isq 



'k'J e JB qjuoui aip 
joj ajnjBjaduiaj UBauiX|iB(]; 



h* vo 



■WV Z jb qjuoui aqj 
joj ajnjBjaduiaj ucaui Xjibq; 



wi \o vo 






— j= 



tn o> 



bo g, 



172 



Statistical Tables. 



TABLE XVIII.— FLORIDA POST OFFICES. 

County-seats are printed in italics. 





ALACHUA. 




Archer 
Arredondo 
Campviile 
Evanston 

Fairbanks 
Frankland 
Gainesville 


Grove Park 

Gruelle 

Hawthorn 

Joella 

Jonesville 

La Crosse 

Lochloosa 

Melrose 

BAKER. 


Micanopy 

Newnansville 

Palmer 

Phoenix 

Trenton 

Waldo 

Yulee 


Darbyville 


Glen St. Mary 
Olustee 

BRADFORD. 


Sanderson 


Burrin 
Hampton 
Lake Butler 


Lawtey 
Providence 
Santa Fe 
Starke 

BREVARD. 


Temple's Mills 

Waverley 

Worthington 


Canaveral 
City Point 
Eau Gallie 
Eden 


Georgiana 
La Grange 
Melbourne 
Newhaven 

CALHOUN. 


Rockledge 
Saint Lucie 
Titusville 


Abe's Spring 
Chipola 


Iola 
Marysville 

CLAY. 


West Wynnton 
Wewahitchka 


Green Cove Springs 

Hibernia 

Highland 


Kingsley 
Lakeside 
Magnolia 
McRae 

COLUMBIA. 


Middleburgh 
Orange Park 
Wilderness 


Barrsville 
Benton 

Blount's Ferry 
Fort White 


Ichatucknee 
Lake City 
Leno 
Mikesville 

DADE. 


Mount Carrie 
Mount Tabor 
Suwanee Shoali 


Biscayne 


Lake Worth 

Miami 


Waveland 



Statistical Tables. 



*73 





DUVAL. 




Baldwin 
Beauclerc 
Dinsmore 
Fort George 


Jacksonville 
Mandarin 
Maxville 
Mayport 
New Berlin 

ESCAMBIA. 


Oklahoma 
Register 
Saint Nicholas 
Tisonia 


Bluff Springs 
Escambia 
Ferry Pass 
McDavid 


Millview 
Molino 
Olive 
Pensacola 


Pine Barren 

Powelton 

Warrington 


< 


FRANKLIN. 




Apalachicola 


Brick Yard 
Carrabelle 

GADSDEN. 


Saint Teresa 


Alamo 
Chattahoochee 


Concord 
Glen Julia 
Midway 

HAMILTON. 


Quincy 
Scotland 


Baker's Mills 

Belleville 

Belmont 


Hamilton 

Jasper 

Jennings 

HERNANDO. 


Marion 

Tyner 

White Springs 


Anclote 
Bay Port 
Brooksville 
Chipco 
Cove Bend 
Crystal River 


Fort Dade 

Hatton 

Hernando 

Hudson 

Istachatta 

Lecanto 

HILLSBOROUGH. 


Lenard 
San Antonia 
Stage Pond 
Tompkinsville 
Tuckertown 


Alafia 

Bay View 

Bloomingdale 

Callsville 

Clear Water Harbor 

Cork 


Disston 

Dunedin 

John's Pass 

Keysville 

Limona 

Mango 

HOLMES. 


Peru 
Pinellas 

Sydney 
Tampa 
Yellow Bluff 


Bonifay 
Cerro Gordo 


Fair Play 
Izagora 
Ponce de Leon 


Summerville 
Westville 



174 



Statistical Tables. 





JACKSON. 




Campbellton 


Greenwood 


Ochesee 


Cottondale 


Haywood's Landing 


Sampson 


Delhvood 


Marianna 


Sneads 


Graceville 


Neal's Landing 

JEFFERSON. 


Whiteside 


Beazley 


Monticello 


Waukeenah 


Drifton 


Pinhook 


Williamsburg 


Lloyd 


Wacissa 

LA FAYETTE. 




Bula 


McCrab 


Old Town 


Hatch's Bend 


Mayo 
New Troy 

LEON. 


Steinhatchee 


Bloxham 


Centreville 


Sunny Hill 


Braden 


Iamonia 


Tallahassee 


Bradfordville 


Miccosukee 

LEVY. 




Bronson 


Gulf Hammock 


Rose Wood 


Cedar Key 


Levyville 
Otter Creek 

LIBERTY. 


Williston 


Bristol 


Coe's Mills 
Orange 

MADISON. 


Rock Bluff 


Ellaville 


Hamburg 


Moseley Hall 


Greenville 


Lee 

Madison 

MANATEE. 


Westfarm 


Braidentown 


Fort Ogden 


Palmetto 


Charlotte Harbor 


Hendry 


Parish 


Davidson 


Manatee 


Pine Level 


Ellenton 


Maltese 


Popash 


Fort Green 


Miakka 
Palma Sola 

MARION. 


Sarasota 


Anthony Place 


Fellowship 


Orange Springs 


Bellview 


Flemington 


Reddick 


Board man 


Fort McCoy 


Silver Springs 


Camp Izard 


Grahamville 


South Lake Weir 


Citra 


Lake Weir 


Sparr 


Cotton Plant 


Martin 


Stanton 


Eureka 


Moss Bluff 


Summit 


Fantville 


Ocala 
Orange Lake 


Whitesville 



Statistical Tables. 



i/5 





MONROE. 




Key Kest 


Ft. Myers 

NASSAU. 


Punta Rassa 


Boulogne 


Dutton 


Hilliard 


Brandy Branch 


Evergreen 


Italia 


Callahan 


Fernandina 


King's Ferry 


Crandall 


Hart's Road 

ORANGE. 




Acron 


Lake Irma 


Ravenswood 


Altamont 


Lake Jessup 


Sanford 


Altoona 


Lake Maitland 


Shingle 


Apopka 


Longwood 


Snowville 


Bryanville 


Mount Dora 


Sorrento 


Eustis 


Oakland 


Spring Grove 


Fort Mason 


Ocoee 


Sylvan Lake 


Fort Reed 


Orlando 


Tangerine 


Geneva 


Osceola 


Tavares 


Goth a 


Oviedo 


Umatilla 


Glendale 


Paola 


Willcox 


Hawkinsville 


Penryn 


Winter Park 


Indian Springs 


Pinecastle 


Zellwood 


Kissimmee City 


Ponceannah 

POLK. 




Bartow 


Chicora 


Medulla 


Brandon 


Fort Meade 

PUTNAM. 


Sanitaria 


Banana 


Lake Como 


Penn 


Buffalo Bluff 


Lake George 


Pomona 


Cone 


McMeekin 


Putnam Hall 


Crescent City 


McWilliams 


Ridgewood 


Drayton Island 


Mannville 


Sauble 


Etoniah 


Mount Royal 


San Mateo 


Federal Point 


Nashua 


Syracuse 


Fruitland 


Norwalk 


Verdiere Point 


Georgetown 


Oakwook 


Welaka 


Interlachen 


Orange Mills 


Westonia 


Johnson 


Palatka 

ST. JOHN'?. 




Cattersville 


Moultrie 


Remington Park 


Florence 


Orange Dale 


Saint Augustine 


Fruit Cove 


Picolata 


Switzerland 


Matanzas 


Racy Point 


Tocoi 



i/6 



Statistical Tables. 



Bay Point 

Blackwater 

Chaffin 



Astabula 
Center Hill 
Esperance 
Lake Griffin 
Leesburg 



Branford 
Houston 
Little River 
Live Oak 
Luraville 



Forest 
Perry 



Beresford 

Blake 

Daytona 

Eldora 

Emporia 

Enterprise 

Glencoe 



Crawfordvitte 
Saint Mark's 



Alford's Mill 

Argyle 

Crestview 



Caryville 
Chipley 



SANTA ROSA. 




Holt 

Mary Esther 

Milton 


Oak Grove 
Otahite 


SUMTER. 




Minneola 

Montclair 

Okahumpka 

Oxford 

Panasoffkee 

Sligh 


Sumter 
Webster 
West Apopka 
Wildwood 
Yallaha 


SUWANEE. 




McAlpin's 
Middleton 
Newburn 
Padlock 
Pine Mount 


Poplar 

Rixford 

Suwanee 

Wellborn 

Wilson 


TAYLOR. 




Shady Grove 
Spring Warrior 


Stephensville 


VOLUSIA. 




Holly Hill 
Leland 
New Smyrna 
Oak Hill 
Orange City 
Ormond 
Osteen 


Port Orange 

Seville 

Spring Garden 

Spring Garden Centre 

Volusia 

Winnemissett 


WAKULLA. 




Smith Creek 
Sopchoppy 


Wakulla 


WALTON. 




Euchee Anna 
Freeport 
Lake de Funiak 


Natural Bridge 
Red Bay 
Sterling 


WASHINGTON. 




Econfina 
Miller's Ferry 
Point Washington 


Saint Andrew's Bay 

Vernon 



Publisher s Department. 



EDWIN OLIVER, Business Manager. 



For the benefit of our advertisers and in order to ensure a reading, 
or at least a notice being taken, of their advertisements, we have ar- 
ranged to insert between every two pages of advertisements one page 
of attractive reading matter. 

All advertisements will be carefully indexed. 

For advertising space and rates in Annual for 1885, apply at the 
office of publication, 140 Nassau Street, New York City. 



INDEX TO ADVERTISEMENTS. 

PACE 

Art Interchange, The 207 

Ashmead Bros., Publishers 187 

Atlantic Coast Steamship Co 2cl p. cover 

Bettelini's Restaurant 205 

Boston and Savannah Steamship Co 2d p. cover 

De Bary-Baya Steamers 3d p. cover' 

De Land (Glimpse of an Elysian Land) 178 

Floral City Route (F. C. & W, R. R.) 193 

Harper & Bro's, Publishers 185 

Hygeia Hotel 2d p. cover 

Jacksonville, St. Augustine, and Halifax River R R 20S 

Mallory Steamship Co 4th p. cover 

Mt. McGregor Ry. Co 203 

Munroe, C. K., Publisher l8r 

New York, West Shore & Buffalo Ry. Co 201 

Ocean Steamship Co. of Savannah 197 

People's Line St. John's River Steamers 191 

Philadelphia Fishing Tackle House 205 

Savannah, Florida & Western Ry. Co. (Way-cross Route) 199 

St. Mark's Hotel, Jacksonville I91 

St. John's River Railroad 3d p. cover 

Togni, J. B. , Jacksonville 20<; 

Transit & Peninsular R. R I95 

Times, Weekly, Jacksonville 189 

Windsor Hotel, Jacksonville 183 

177 



A Glimpse of an Elysian Land, 



BY REV. DAVID MOORE, D.D. 



YOU ask "me to tell your readers something about Florida in general, and of De Land in particular. 
Let me say first., then, that the glory of Florida is its climate, and the great advantage of a 
winter spent here is, that invalids can live mainly out of doors, and breathe the fresh open air, 
and bask in the warm sunshine. Owing to the peninsular position of Florida, its climate is 
unique. It is different from that of any other Southern State, and you find nothing just like it either 
in Europe or on the Pacific coast. Of course it is warm — in the direct rays of the sun often hot ; but 
we have constant breezes either from the Atlantic or the Gulf, which, while soft and balmy, are also 
cool and refreshing. Even in the hottest part of the day, if you step into the shade of an orange-tree, or 
a passing cloud veils the sun, you find it at once deliciously cool. This is a peculiar and most grateful 
feature of the Florida climate. The air here has nothing of that oven-like heat which we often expe- 
rience elsewhere, and which is so oppressive and prostrating. But it is difficult to give a definite idea 
of the exceeding beauty of this climate. To know what it is you must live in it. The only unpleasant" 
weather we experience here is when the wind is from the north, and you are having a regular blizzard 
up there. Then it is chilly and disagreeable, doors and windows are closed, and fires are needed to be 
comfortable. But after two or three days the wind changes, the sun breaks out, and lovely Florida is 
herself again ; the opening flowers exhale their fragrance, the mocking-birds pour out their marvelouc 
songs, and all nature laughs for joy. Now, in this month of April, the weather is surpassingly 
beautiful. 

IS IT HEALTHY? 

But what about the health in Florida ? you ask. Well, there are localities in Florida, doubtless, 
which are unhealthy. But take the State as a whole, reliable statistics show that its death-rate is lower 
than any other State in the Union, and that Florida is really one of the healthiest portions of our 
country. Of this particular region I can speak from personal knowledge Situated as we are, five 
miles east of the St. John's, midway of an extensive pine ridge, soil sandy, with no stagnant water in 
the vicinity, we have all the conditions of health that Florida affords, and in the highest degree. It is 
high and dry, and you may travel thisentire plateau and not see any moss on the trees. There is sick- 
ness here, as there is everywhere, but after careful observation and inquiry, I am convinced that a 
large share of the cases of sickness here is owing to impure water. One of the drawbacks of Florida — 
and it has several, for it is not heaven — is the lack of good water. But pure water can be had. And 
when the people here come to use only filtered rain water, and take reasonable care of themselves in 
other respects, I am persuaded that cases of serious illness will be few and far between. This is be- 
ginning to be bettei understood, and people are building large cisterns and using good filterers. We 
have done what we' could to shed light on this subject. 

But you have malaria in Florida, you say. Yes : along the rivers, on the low hammock lands and 
in marshy locations, especially in the latter summer months, there is no doubt a good deal of malaria. 
But even on the rivers, during the winter months, there is little to be feared from malaria, and in fine 
uplands like this, nothing at all. Year in and year out there is not half as much malaria on this 
orange ridge as there is in portions of Westchester County, say along the Bronx River, and in many 
other localities in our Empire State, not to speak of Jersey and the West. The fact is, thisentire high 
pine region is exceptionally healthy. Fevers are of a mild type, diphtheria and scarlet fever are almost 
unknown, and upon invalids suffering from disease of the respiratory organs, this balmy climate acts 
like a charm. Not a few come here in the last stage of consumption, and, of course, they sink down 
and die. Florida will not raise the dead But thousands seriously affected with catarrh, asthma, 
bronchitis, and other kindred diseases, come here and get well, or at least they are greatly benefited, 
and their lives are prolonged. When we came here last November, my wife had a distressing cough, 
her breathing from asthma was most painful, and for years she has scarcely ever been free from 

For further information apply to H. A. De Land, Fair port, N. Y., 
or to J. Y. Parce, or C.H. and S. B. Wright, De Land, Fla. 

178 



A Glimpse of an Elysian Land. 179 

catarrhal colds. The first three weeks she seemed worse rather than better, and we feared that, like so 
many, we had come too late ; but the fourth week, with God's blessing, the genial climate began to 
exert its heaiing influence. Soon cough, asthma, and catarrh disappeared, and have not returned. 
She has been able to live largely out of doors, has enjoyed life immensely, and is now comparatively 
well. You do not wonder we have pitched a tent for a winter home in this land of sunshine and 
flowers, for this climate is simply heaiing and life to her. And hers is not a solitary case. There are 
scores of similar ones all around us. I have talked with many who told me they were slowly but 
surely dying at the North, but coming here got well, and are now doing their own work. A well-known 
Ph.D., of Philadelphia, a great sufferer from asthma, told me, a few weeks ago when he was here, that 
during the ten days he had been in Florida he had experienced entire relief from asthma, had slept like 
a child, and gained seven pounds. There is no question in my mind, that, as Florida is better known, it 
will come to be more a place for winter homes for Northern people ; and invalids, instead of going to 
the south of France or Italy, and thus placing the ocean between them and their homes, will seek 
healing and comfort in their own beautiful Florida, and to their immense advantage. Florida will yet 
become one vast sanitarium. Its climate alone, so beautiful and salubrious, is enough to make Florida 
a rich and prosperous State ; but it has immense resources of its own which are only just beginning to 
be developed. And this leads me to speak of De Land in particular. 



WHERE AND WHAT DE LAND IS. 

As already stated, De Land occupies the middle portion of a high plateau or undulating swell of 
land, twenty miles long and five wide, thickly covered with yellow pine and dotted with beautiful 
lakes. The soil is a light sand, and to one coming from the rich grain lands of Central New York or 
the West, it looks extremely poor. You think that fifty acres of it would not raise enough to feed a 
blackbird, and very likely your first feeling is one of disappointment and perhaps disgust. But it is by 
no means as poor as it looks, as witness these noble pines, these luxuriant orange groves, and this im- 
mense growth of weeds and wild grasses. It is so easily worked that all the ploughing is done with 
one horse or a mule, and if you stir it frequently and fertilize it even as much as you do at the North, 
it will raise almost anything. Six years ago there was only one house here, with a small clearing 
around it, and here and there a cabin far away in the wilderness. Now there is a thriving town, 
throbbing with life and energy — a live Western town in a Southern clime. Between forty and fifty 
buildings, some of them large stores and first-class dwellings, have been erected since we came here, 
and the sound of the axe, and the saw and hammer, heard daily from morning to night, tell you that 
other buildings are going up on every side. How can I give you an idea of the place ? 

Imagine yourself standing with me at the junction of New York Avenue, running east and west, 
and Woodland Boulevard, the Fifth Avenue of De Land, crossing at right angles. Look about you. 
You see fine stores for all kinds of merchandise — dry-goods, groceries, flour and feed, drugs, furniture, 
millinery, jewelry, etc., a bakery, a bank, and, I am sorry to add, two or three saloons. Looking 
north down the Boulevard you see a row of trees planted through the middle of it, and extending a 
full mile. They are water oaks, wild oranges, and magnolias, alternately. See what wide-spreading 
tops they are already throwing out, for vegetation grows with amazing rapidity here. Imagine what 
a beautiful sight they will present and what a grateful shade they will afford three years from now. 
Strolling down the Boulevard, we pass the office of the Florida Agriculturist. Colonel Codrington, 
the able editor, has more than fifty varieties of the citrus family in his orange orchard, besides a great 
variety of tropical and semi-tropical plants, fruits, and flowers. The Agriculturist is richly freighted 
with valuable information, and is a recognized authority on all Florida matters. 

" What is that beautiful edifice on yonder rising ground on the east side of the Boulevard, with 
stained-glass windows and slender spire ? you ask. That is the Baptist Church, the pride of De Land. 
It is finished, furnished, and paid for, and is a real gem in its way. To-morrow is the first anniversary 
of its dedication, and, with the Master's presence and blessing, we expect to have a glorious time. The 
membership, though not large, is of excellent material, the Sunday congregations are good, the prayer- 
meetings well attended and interesting, and the Sunday-school large and flourishing. That square 
cottage over yonder is the residence of our rosy-faced, good-natured, excellent pastor, Rev. A. L. 
Farr. Step over, and he and his amiable wife, Strong as maid, and stronger Farr as wife, will give you 
a cordial welcome. That cottage nesting in the pines, this side the pastor s, is the winter home of Rev. 
A. B. Knight, of Kentucky, a grand man, but in broken health. His excellent wife is the daughter of 
Rev. Dr. Ryland, of Richmond. This neat cottage on the Boulevard, just beyond the church, is 
brother Stocktons. He was a member of Dr. Parmly's Church, Jersey City. He is a wide-awake 
Christian worker, and conducts a flourishing mission Sunday-schoofat Winnimissett, some three miles 
east of the town. That residence next to him belongs to his business partner, brother McLaurine, a 
genial, warm-hearted Virginian, whose cheery greeting always gladdens your heart. The next tasteful 
cottage with bow-window in front, is occupied by Mrs. Steadmanand her accomplished daughter, of 
Oswego. The next, a very pretty one, just finished, and unoccupied as yet, belongs to young brother 
Frayser. The cosy cageawaitsthecoming bird. That larger house fartheron belongs to Judge Henry, 
of Cincinnati, and the cottage still beyond is the winter hide-away of your bumble servant. These are 
all Baptist families except one ; but I mention them thus in detail not because they are Baptists, but to 
enable you to realize what kind of people make up the community of De Land. They are largely from 
the North and West, a considerable number from Kentucky, and a sprinkling from the other Southern 
and Eastern States. A more intelligent, enterprising, and in every way excellent people you do not find 
anywhere in city or country. They appreciate schools and churches, are a Sabbath-keeping, church- 
going peeple, good, kind, neighbors, just such people as you would like to live among. Nearly all the 

For further information apply to H.A. De Land, Fairport, N. Y., 
or to J. Y. Parcc, or C. H. and S. B. Wright, De Land, Fla. 



i8o A Glimpse of an Elysian Land. 

religious denominations are represented here. A few weeks ago the Methodists dedicated a very neat 
and commodious church, and a finer-looking audience than that which crowded the house on that occa- 
sion you seldom see. Intelligent strangers present remarked it. The pastor stated that some $450 were 
needed to enable them to dedicate the church free from debt. In a few minutes more than $600 were 
subscribed, the Baptists present — and they were all there — contributing as liberally as the Methodists 
themselves. This again shows the kind of people we have here. The Presbyterians and Episco- 
palians worship at present in the school-house, but will soon build. The Disciples and Catholics have 
also church organizations. Besides, there are two colored churches, Baptist and Methodist. There are 
good public and select schools here now, and institutions for higher education will be planted in the 
near future. 

FLORIDA'S MAIN BUSINESS. 

Your readers are aware that the raising of oranges is the main business here. Lemons, limes, pine- 
apples, bananas, sugar-cane, and. other semi-tropical fruits, are successfully cultivated. But the great 
industry is orange culture. Everybody has an orange grove, if only an acre, but the majority of groves 
about here range from two to five and ten acres, five being the most common. Of course there are larger 
groves — twenty, thirty, and forty acres. O. N. Hull, Esq., of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, has sixty acres in 
one grove, and in all 150 acres, containing more than 12,000 trees. While here this winter he bought three 
acres in town, cleared and planted it, and will build next winter. Mayor Hull evidently believes in Florida 
and in the orange business, and he is one of the shrewdest of men. Most of the groves in and around De 
Land are young ; only a few are in full bearing. Dr. Gillen's grove of 1 ,500 trees , in the suburbs of the 
village, was laden with its golden fruit when we came here. And never had my imagination conceived 
anything half so rich, beautiful, and glorious as that grove with its wealth of rich, ripe oranges. About 
Christmas I visited the famous Norris Grove, at Spring Garden, seven miles from here. It is mainly 
on low hammock land, and the trees are budded into sour oranges, growing wild in the hammock — the 
other timber of course being cleared away. This is one of the largest groves in this vicinity. What a 
sight ! Oranges, oranges everywhere ! A wilderness of wealth and beauty. Major Norris told us that 
he had already shipped 500,000 oranges, and that he has half a million more to pick and ship. He 
conducted us from tree to tree, urging us to eat of this kind and eat of that, and still another and 
another. 

At last he led us to a tree in the orange grove, which in its shape and color was perfectly beautiful. 
Not satisfied with feasting us from the trees, the genial proprietor insisted on putting a large bagful 
into our carriage to take home. As we drove back through the grove, and all its glory came into view 
again, I felt indeed that it was worth a journey across the continent to behold that sight. No descrip- 
tion can give any adequate idea of the exceeding richness and beauty of an orange grove in full bearing. 
Imagine yourself surrounded by trees thirty feet high, with thick glossy green foliage, bearing from 
2.000 to 5,000 oranges each, laden from tip-top to the ground, and often hanging in clusters of five, ten, 
fifteen, and sometimes even more— apples of gold in pictures of emerald. Do you wonder that any one 
beholding such a sight gets the orange fever ? I can assure you that they all do. 

This orange business is what brings so many here. During the past five months there has been one 
continual stream of people coming and going, sometimes fifty in a single day, and every hotel and 
boarding house has been full to overflowing. A great many of these have made investments and 
arranged to have groves planted. You may get some idea of the movement of things here when I tell 
you that this winter Mr. De Land alone has sold orange property to between fifty and sixty different 
parties, and that his purchases and sales have amounted to about $100,000. What other real estate men 
have sold I have no means of knowing. As a result of these large investments, this entire orange belt, 
from Spring Garden on the north,_as far beyond Orange City on the south, is being transformed with 
amazing rapidity from an extensive pine forest into an immense orange grove. In riding over the 
length and breadth of this plateau, you can scarcely get out of sight of an orange grove, or a clearing 
preparing for one. Here is a cabin, there a cottage, and yonder a mansion. And for all this imme- 
diate surrounding region, De Land is the business centre and source of supplies. Real estate is steadily 
on the rise. It has doubled in the past two years, and everything betokens a further advance. 

The Palatka and Indian River Railroad is to pass through this place. The route is surveyed, the 
right of way mostly secured, engineers are finally locating the line, gangs of hands are at work grading, 
and it is expected that the road will be completed to this place in time for next winter's traffic. When 
I see what has been done here in De Land — a whole town built, and the country for five miles around 
dotted with homes of thrifty settlers, and remember that all this has been accomplished in six years — 
the greater part of it indeed in three years — I am astonished at the mighty forces which have been and 
still are at work. This wonderful growth has been owing in no small degree to the enterprise and 
energy of H. A. De Land, Esq., of Fairport,N. Y., after whom the town is named. In all his operations 
here he has pursued a truly liberal and enlightened policy. In no case has he gone for the last dollar 
he could get for property, but has frequently bought land and turned it over to actual settlers at a 
small advance, sometimes at just what it cost him, thus enabling purchasers to do well for themselves, 
and at the same time to be a help to the place. He has been the wise counselor, the trusted friend, 
and the willing helper of hundreds of people from all parts of the country, and has ever shown a gen- 
erous liberality toward every enterprise which tended to the material or spiritual prosperity of the 
community. 

It is now a demonstrated fact that this entire plateau is specially adapted to the raising of the 
finest oranges. You, yourself, Mr. Editor, have had a taste of them, and testified publicly through the 
Examiner as to their quality. As for this plateau, De Land, as I have said, is the business centre, 
and has all the advantages named ; it is my deliberate conviction that its prosperous future is secured. 
— AVo/ York Examiner. 

For further information apply to H.A. De Land, Fair port, N. K, 
or to f. Y. Farce, or C. H. and S. B. Wright, De Land, Fla. 



A dvertisements. i S I 

C. K. MUNROE, 

140 NASSAU STREET, NEW YORK CITY, 
/ 

PUBLISHER OF 

DESC RI PTI VE PAM PH LETS 

AND GUID^ BOOKS. 
Railroad Pamphlets a Specialty. 

Estimates furnished and contracts taken for 
Printing and Engraving. 

Maps, prepared by skilled Engravers, furnished 
to order. 

Illustrations redrawn by first-class artists, and 
carefidly engraved. 



THE 



FLORIDA ANNUAL, 

published at this office, in October of each year, is the 

standard authority on all matters 

pertaining to Florida. 



Items of Interest. 



MELON RINDS. 

" De watermellion stretches out hisself in de sand " was illustrated by a vine that 
grew in Marion County last summer, which was 1,500 feet long, and bore 430 pounds 
of melons. 

Watermelons, weighing from fifty to seventy pounds, were grown and gathered at 
Fort Myers last summer. 

A quarter of an acre in watermelons of 100 hills is worth $125 or $500 an acre in 
some parts of Florida. 

Three thousand seven hundred and fifty muskmelons and 21,132 watermelons 
were disposed of in Jacksonville City Market during the month of July, ,1883. 

Melons— Occasional Friendship. 



ORANGE SEEDS. 

The oldest bearing orange grove in Florida is the famous " Dummet" grove on 
Indian River. 

The oldest orange-tree is near Waldo. 

The largest orange-tree in Florida is the "Fort Harley," near Waldo. It is 
thirty-four feet in height ; the spread of its branches, from tip to tip, is fifty-eight feet, 
and its girth, one foot above the base of the trunk, is nine feet two inches. 

Two hundred thousand boxes and barrels of oranges were shipped from Florida to 
New York last season, and found a ready market. 

An orange is said to be worth gold in the morning, silver at noon, and only an 
orange at night. 

The first steamer exclusively devoted to the orange trade was sent from London 
to Valencia in 1867. 

There are twenty-seven different ways of preparing the orange for the table. 

The orange-tree is the longest-lived fruit tree known, and no tree will grow and 
bear so well under neglect and rough treatment as the orange. 

182 



Advertisements. 



i3 3 




•PAUTKA./IA. 



EQUINOX. House 

MANCHESTER^ 



Jailpoi^ViTlBjla; 

f.fl.o^VjjS 



The Windsor is one of the most elegant 
and perfect hotels in the United States. Its 
location, facing East on the City Park, and 
South on Monroe Street, is the finest in 



Jacksonville. 



1 84 Items of Interest. 

It takes 600 pounds of orange flowers to produce one ounce of oil of orange. A 
weak alcoholic essence may be obtained by macerating the flowers with spirits of wine. 

In 1880 Putnam County, which takes the lead in the production of oranges, had 
64, 170 bearing trees, which produced 7,120,631 oranges. Marion County stood next, 
having 46,295 trees, and producing 6,000,000 oranges. 

There were in 1 880 292,324 bearing orange-trees in Florida, from which were 
gathered 46,097,856 oranges, 

Polk County, which in 1880 had only 2,283 bearing orange-trees, now has 10,000, 
from which 5,000,000 marketable oranges were gathered in 1883. 



AN ORANGE WISH. 

" O that I were an orange-tree, 
That busy plant ! 
Then should I ever laden be, 

And never want 
Some fruit for him who thinks of me." , 

The Seminole for orange is A laha ; sweet orange, Y alia ha ; sour orange, Yalla- 
hattmacks. 

There are fewer Catholics than Orangemen in Florida. 

He's as civil as an orange. 

CRACKERS. 

There is said to be as much tannin in one cord of saw palmetto root as there is in 
five cords of hemlock bark. 

Key West manufactured for the year ending June 30th, 75,000,000 cigars. 

A copper coin, upon one side of which was " Hibernia, 1760," and upon the other 
" Georgios II.," was dug up by one of the railroad hands near Orange Park. 

" Big Cypress," medicine man of the Seminoles, has adopted eye-glasses, so that he 
can see "good half-mile." 

Florida has built more miles of railroad during the past year than any other. 
Southern State. 

Palatka is called the " Gem" City of Florida. 

Jacksonville, which is called the " Saratoga of the South," was visited by 100, oco 
Northerners last season. 

" What is there to enjoy in Florida ?" asks a Northern paper. The pleasure of 
being able to live out of doors during the entire year. 

Eole, the famous race-horse, was raised in Duval County, near Jacksonville, 
Florida. 



A dvertisements. 



185 






hO m T! <2 I u I t*T3 £ B >■. 

■a o a. 2 «n o a o.s >,q 




O 

CO 



v-H 


>■ 


rt 







w 


•1-1 


w 


T3 


£ 


O 


CO 



HI 

Oh « 



03 
PQ 






<^-g 2 2-5 2 -" 3 »" 3- B S^-a ag 5-0 "•„ C S g S.g.2 „ = £ 



•~g § 3 « c°J-c g>2 

3 *J V O ^ " m -2 -* c — ' 



EE 
"3 S 

v -a 
■5 " 



3 e 



= 2*2 



« 1-2 bg £ " c £.£_« 



ai V O >,«SJ he?! M 

m * •-% o-s ^3i's 

E.S o.E •- u «!.£•■= « e 

e SffSglga 8 -a 

ejc^^Sge ,-a 2 

|J &£? I £2 

•3 2 -2 m to _ « Jr 3 
..^- ^ i) rt ^73.3 — o 

t < - 5 3 rt ^ 3 
c 5 -^ " Q.-3 "2 — '5 « > 



« E 
~ a 



tn 

«2 & S 



-0 



■S"l3£. 

u t- to ,-. 
^ ^-< o u • - 

«•= So" 



-«-" ■' = > = 215 

o«'3 ,. a. c 5—; 
«u c.n - *-'S >■= ° 

jr ^- .•. r; f^ o . 

• a ^i2 S^ 5 S « 
>3nc"^32S < 

Jo— 1 U u U »j JS 3 



o - ,£ „ «j o so b x cu tS >, s H 
°?r Sf, uU n .SJ u SC'»a J 

^•5 2 m "S 5 « 



15 -a > 




™ 6 - 5 11 , s-o^ 

«'"•» fe E S "-r 3 2 

kS-"3o°< u = so? 



o> CEft,«|; a l«CO> -._ 
g ' B 2 B« 9 2 §.« illl o'oc b E = 



- o .- 




> £. a ca o 



<5-3 C u « E 

w c S 3 u o ; w r 

w 5 « a - .a a 

"ti U 2~ ^ ""T3 " ' 

<>• 3^:^.2 3 h = 

K o o^ ° 1- 1- ^ - 
*_ ho— < rt o *-< a- c t- 

o "3> S m s ' - 

.2 «s- =^|^.q 



3- o -r — _ _ >. 
.B ^ •- G .2 c ^ >, 






N 0<i 1« O OJ3. 




'C 3.2 



I 2 m & ^2 I v« u ^« a s * 

'21 SfS s>.-9 m §H"W "> mS 1*5 






O 

I| Si & 



rt ~ 



"^ B ^ 



CO 



c^ .2 a hh 

■< 



i« E u 
*-J> M O 



v- E o 3 

,7; o o-a 
• 2 EU « 
CO e 2^ St; ,,-r 

en <u E o " o TT) 

« ■r&iT -8 w 

M 3 « § 5 a | "-r" 

b oi^ to 2 ? -T 
co 



B Ol^ 



5--Tsil« 



o „ b<2_!— tf 

„~; o J" i n 
j. rt i; < a!^; Mh 

rt '5"?v §^ 

U "IE " 

"° 2 a «, B 7* 

= ^52| 
a o 2 -i - ft 

•3 =J3 -'C'S V) 

SS-»jij to 

^ a; u n .#, "^ "T^ 

a 2 o" t; ^ T3 

Co" a <■ « 

S 2 ?! a ^ 

m a O o. -^ 



H ".OS ■ 



1 86 Items of Interest. 

Peaches, eleven inches in circumference and weighing half a pound, were raised in 
Tallahassee last season. 

St. Augustine boasts of a century plant thirty-five feet high. 

Key West cigar factories give employment to over 5,000 persons. 

Four hundred and twenty-five pound turtles come from Cedar Keys. 

There is no better way of investing money in Florida than in a pecan grove. Good 
land, for this purpose, may be had for $1.25 per acre, or less ; one dollar per acre will 
girdle it, and fifty cents per acre will plant the pecans. Then all that is necessary is to 
keep the bushes cut until the trees are four years old. The trees are subject to no dis- 
ease, and as their tap roots run from fifteen to twenty feet deep they are never uprooted 
by storms. They bear at twelve years, and at fifteen years old will produce four bushels 
each, or about 200 bushels per acre, which will yield a clear profit of $800. 

The leaf and stem of the saw palmetto furnishes a pulp from which a fine grade 
of paper is made. 

" Is there any danger to life and property from snakes or alligators?" was one of 
a list of questions asked of a Florida editor. He answered that no serious danger to 
property from snakes or alligators need be apprehended. 

Journalism has progressed more rapidly in Florida than any other enterprise or 
industry. — Weekly Bee. 

For newspaper men Florida offers fine opportunities. — South Florida Citizen. 

A bunch of roses grown in Fort Dade consisted of a cluster of stems springing from 
a single branch not over a foot and a half in length, bearing 108 full-blown roses, which 
had opened simultaneously. 

"Two Dollar Bluff " is the name of a locality on Indian River. 1 

One of the pioneers in Florida strawberry culture figures the following product of 
a single acre of plants : first year, $600 ; second year, $1,500 ; third year, $2,500. 

The dungeons and chapel of the old fort at St. Augustine remain just as they were 
300 years ago. 

The Florida agent for the Smithsonian Institute recently shipped to that institution 
3,000 snakes, and ten bushels of bird-eggs, besides bird skins, and other things with- 
out number. 

" The best way to keep on the good side of the American public," said Madame 
Christine Nilsson to Henry Irving, "is to learn ' Way Down upon the Suwanee River ;' 
it carried me through two seasons, and they are not tired of it yet." 

The estimated cost of the Florida ship canal is $46,000,000. 

A herd of cattle is spoken of as a " bunch " in South Florida. 

The finest lemons offered in the New York market are those grown in Florida ; 
they are packed in boxes holding from 250 to 350 each, and have brought as highas$l2 
a box — the average price bein& from $3 to $4 a box. 



A dvertisernents. 



187 



ASHMEAD BROS. 

Publishers, Booksellers and Stationers, 

WHOLESALE & RETAIL. 
JACKSONVILLE, FLORIDA. 

Publishers of 

THE FLORIDA HERALD, 

A Daily Evening Paper, giving the Latest Telegraphic Dispatches, Financial, 
Commercial, Stock, Local, and State News. 

SUBSCRIPTION PRICE: 

Per Annum, $5.00. - Six Months, $2.50. Three Months, $i 25. 



Publishers of 

THE FLORIDA DISPATCH, 

A 30-page weekly agricultural journal, at only $2.00 per year. Devoted to Southern Agriculture, 
Fruit Growing, Market Gardening, etc. This paper has the largest circulation 1 of 
any published in Florida. Specimen copies free. Write for a copy. 
(0^~ We will send THE DAILY FLORIDA HERALD and THE FLORIDA DISPATCH 
both one year for $5.50 ; six months for $3.00. 

LIST OF BOOKS ON FLORIDA : 



Florida, for Tourists, Invalids, and Settlers 

(Barbour), profusely illustrated $1 50 

Florida, its Scenery, Climate, and History 

(Lanier) 1 50 

Guide to East Florida (Edwards), paper 10 

Fairbanks' History of Florida 2 50 

Guide to Jacksonville , 25 

Tourists' and Invalids' Reference Book of 

Winter Travel 50 

South Florida, the Italy of America 25 

Davis' Orange Culture (new edition), en- 
larged and improved 50 

Moore's Orange Culture (new edition), en- 
larged and improved 1 00 

Orange Insects, illustrated (Ashmead) 1 00 

History of St. Augustine (Dewhurst) 1 25 

A Manual of Gardening in Florida Whitner) 50 
Guide to St. Augustine & Florida ( Bloomfield) 50 



Orange Culture in California (A. T. Garey), 

cloth $ z 25 

Colton's Map of Florida 7 - 

Colton's Map of Florida (sectional), the best 1 25 
New and Accurate Map of St. John's River 25 
McClellan's New Digest of Laws of Florida, 

8vo, sheep, postage extra .' 7 qq 

Index to the Decisions of the Supreme Court 

of Florida . . . . 3 00 

Notes from Sunland, on the Manatee River, 
GulfCoastof South Florida, its Climate, 
Soil and Productions, by Samuel C. Up- 

ham, paper 25 

Florida as a Permanent Home 10 

Florida Breezes ; or, Florida New and Old, 

by Mrs. Ellen Call Long 1 00 

Truck Farming in the South, by A. E. 

Oemler, cloth 1 50 



LATEST. 

Manville's Practical Orange Culture, pp. 75, Cloth $, 00 

Harcourt's Florida Fruits, and How to Raise them x ^ 

VIEWS OF FLORIDA: 

Sent by mail, postage free, on receipt of price. In book form, containing 12 views each. 

Souvenir of Florida (small size) 25c I Souvenir of Jacksonville (large size) 50c 

Scenes and Characters of the Sunny South Souvenir of St. Augustine (large size) 50c 

(sTiall size) 25c | Stereoscopic Views, per dozen $1 50 

FLORIDA ILLUSTRATED: 

10,000 copies of which have just been issued by us, consisting of twenty imperial size colored 
views in a handsome cloth case, illustrating the different sections of the State of Florida. 

This is the handsomest work of the kind ever published in Florida. Price, by mail, postage paid, 
50c. Every one interested in Florida should have a copy. 

Any of the above works mailed on receipt of price. Address 

ASHMEAD BROS., Jacksonville, Fla. 



1 88 Items of Interest. 

The first coffee raised in the United States was grown on the Manatee River in 
Florida. 

One of the advantages c limed for Florida is, that it is south of the tornado belt. 

In St. Augustine they use drum-fish scales for business and visiting cards. 

The extreme length of the ship canal from the Atlantic to the Gulf coast will be 
137 1-2 miles, the actual cutting of which will be only fifty miles between the St. John's 
and Suwanee Rivers. When finished it will shorten the distance between New York 
and New Orleans 500 miles, New Orleans and Liverpool 412 miles, and New York and 
Pensacola 600 miles. Every steamer taking the canal route will save from two to 
four days, while sailing vessels will save from eight to ten days. 

Five new life-saving stations were established on the Atlantic coast of Florida 
during the last year, as follows : 

No. 1 — Indian River Narrows (rebuilt). 

No. 2 — Gilbert Bai\ 

No. 3 — Orange Grove, six miles south of Lake Worth. 

No. 4— Fort Lauderdale, on New River. 

No. 5 — Key Biscayne. 

Twenty of the Florida State papers are published on Saturday. 

The value of crops grown and gathered in Florida during a portion of the year 
when lands in the North and West are frozen, can scarcely be estimated, and proves 
that " Florid's sandy lands " are not " barren waste ;" for while millions of oranges, 
pineapples, and other fruits were exported last year, truck gardening was equally suc- 
cessful. $400 an acre for tomatoes, $1,200 for cucumbers, and from $800 to $1,300 
profit on a season's planting, are among the Florida truck farmer's records for 1883. 

At Palatka a boy used chunks of watermelon for catfish bait, with great success ; 
and at Jacksonville a catfish swallowed a $200 gold watch that accidentally dropped 
from a gentleman's hand while he was standing on the wharf. This bait was also 
good, but failed to capture the fish. 

The medical as well as the literary departments of the Florida University, at 
Tallahassee, receives students of both sexes. 

The largest known tree in Florida is a cypress, growing at Longwood, Orange 
County. By actual measurement it is fourteen feet eight inches in diameter, just 
above the ground, and sixty feet high to the first limb. 

The Florida grape-fruit, which is almost unknown in the North, is a species of the 
family to which the orange and lemon especially belong. It resembles an orange only in 
its size and color, but when the inside white skin, which is intensely bitter, is stripped 
off, the pulp proves excellent eating being preferred by many to the orange. 

Half a million of alligators were slaughtered in Florida last season for their 
skins. 

A loggerhead turtle's nest, with 1,400 eggs in it, was discovered near Ormond, on 
the' Halifax River, last summer. 

An old Northern farmer replied, when asked what he thought of Florida, " Well. 
I'll tell ye : the land's worth 'bout fifty cents an acre, but the air's worth 'bout a hun- 
dred and fifty dollars an acre." 



Advertisements. I ?g 

THE FLORIDA 

Weekly Times, 

THE BEST WEEKLY IN THE SOUTH, 

And at the Popular Price of 

One Dollar a Year, 

Meets a long-felt want, as its rapidly growing subscription list shows. 

From Maine to California and " Across the Waters" Reliable 
Information is Sought After about ■ 

FLORIDA, 

And they find it in the WEEKLY TIMES. Its growth is equal to 
any of the Western States. It is now, 

"GO TO FLORIDA, YOUNG MAN." 



For all who wish to learn something definite of Florida, for those 
who have interests here and wish to keep posted on the current events, 
happenings and changes throughout the State, THE WEEKLY 
TIMES is the Paper. Its news is confined to no locality. It being 
the Weekly Edition of 

THE LARGEST DAILY IN THE STATE, 

ITS SERVICE IS UNEQUALED. 

SECURE IT FREE! 

By making up a club of ten. 
For io dollar's we will send eleven Weeklys for one year. 

address : 

The Weekly Times, 

JACKSONVILLE, FLA. 

SPECIMEN COPIES SENT FREE. 



Jgif Don't send postage stamps unless you are obliged to ; and if 
you do, send none larger than two-cent stamps. 

THE DAILY "TIMES-UNION," $10.00 PER YEAR. 



190 Items of Interest. 

During the fiscal year ending June 30th, there were 1,655 homestead entries made 
at the United States Land Office, in Gainesville, Florida. 

Lake De Funiak, which was made famous by De Soto, is the highest body of 
water in Florida, being 200 feet above sea level. 

Six thousand baby alligators are sold every year in Florida. 

" What is it smells so?" asked an Englishman of a Floridian, who was driving the 
stranger over the country in his buggy. 

" I don't perceive any bad odor," answered the native. 

The traveler persisted that there "was an odor, a very bad odor," and insisted 
on knowing what it was. Then the Floridian remembered that there were some 
guavas under the buggy seat, and mentioned the fact. 

Under the impression that they were a kind of native game, the Englishman asked, 
" Have they been dead long?" 

A letter written on palmetto paper will bear washing with water and soap, rubbing 
and rinsing like linen, without injury to the letter, or the paper on which it is written. 

" Fifty cents to Orange Dale," said the mate of a Palatka steamer to an old col- 
ored man. 

" Yer don't charge min'sters full fare, does yer ?" inquired Uncle Dan. 

" No ; what is the first book in the Bible ?" 

Uncle Dan scratchedhis head, and thought a while, and then replied : " Thou shalt 
have no odder " 

" Fifty cents," said the mate. 

Calvin Nedson, or "Chief," the last of the Pequots, of Connecticut, is a coral 
gatherer on the Dry Tortugas, having settled there some years before the late war. 

At Fort George Island, Florida, there is an old Spanish mansion known as the 
" Ghost House," which is built entirely of oyster-shells. 

The J., St. A. & H. R. Ry. since October last has been owned and controlled by 
the Hon. W. Jerome Green, of Utica, N. Y., who has spared no expense in putting 
it into first-class order. Everything about it is new and nice. 

Over 200 of the known 420 species of trees in the United States, growing to tree 
size, are found on Florida soil. 

Rose-culture is proposed as a new industry for Florida. 

Six hundred thousand pineapples were shipped from the Florida Keys during the 
last season. 

Mrs. Stowe writes : " But what a bouquet of sweets is an orange-tree ! We call the 
time of their budding ' the week of pearls.' " 

Florida raises more than half of the sea island cotton produced in the entire coun- 
try. Last year's crop amounted to 35,799 bales, of which Florida furnished 18,108. 

One of the strongest evidences of the increasing prosperity of Florida is the fact 
that the taxable property of the State has nearly doubled since 1878. The following is 
the valuation for each year since that date : 1878, $29,471,227; 1879, $3 2 >794j383 J 
i88r, $36,243,523 ; 1882, $45,285,977 ; and for 1883 it is estimated that it will reach 
fully $55,000,000. 



Advertisements. 1 9 T 

PEOPLES LINE. 

fU \ " C7/.4 TTA HOOCH EE ' ' 

lj* *J* STEAMERSj "^.^./ J ^^r 

T [ "JENNIE LANE" 

PLYING ON ST JOHN'S RIVER, FLORIDA, 

Between Jacksonville and Sanford, 

Connecting at Jacksonville with trains, on the Waycross R.R. 

" " Palatka with the Florida S. R.R. for Ocala and the 

interior. 
" " Astor with St. J. and L. E. R.R. for the celebrated 

Lake region. 
" " Sanford with South Florida R.R. for Orlando, 

Kissimmee, and Tampa. 



St. Mark's Hotel, 

(Opposite Post ' Office), 

JACKSONVILLE, FLORIDA. 



CONVENIENT TO ALL THE 

St. John's River Steamboats. 

Take Street Cars at Railroad Depots. 
Rate, $2.50 to $3.00. 



192 Items of Interest. 

Allapatta Hajo, one of the Seminole chiefs, is described as a very pleasant and 
merry Indian, and not at all like his name, which, translated, means Mad Alligator. 

The fourth rule of the South Florida Seminary is : " The use of tobacco will not 
be allowed in or around the school building." 

Two Newfoundland dogs were sent from New York, by express, to Orlando, with 
the following inscription tacked to the case containing them : " Please give us some 
water along the route. Don't forget the grub." (Signed) " Nip and Tuck." 

On one of' the four bells belonging to the Roman Catholic Cathedral, at St. 
Augustine, is the following inscription, showing it to be the oldest bell in the United 
States : 

" Sancte Joseph. 

Ora Pro Nobis. 

D. 1682." 

The orange crop of Florida is annually worth over one and a half millions of 
dollars. 

The first number of the Florida Workman, edited by Rev. Joseph E. Lee, a 
colored man, in the interests of the colored people of Florida, was issued in Jackson- 
ville, on the 8th of September last. 

As early as T763 William Stark wrote of St. Augustine, that " the orange and 
lemon trees grow here, without cultivation, to a large size, andproduoe better fruit than 
Spain or Portugal.'' 

St. Augustine has six baseball clubs. 

Florida contains about 25,000,000 acres of yellow pine timber, estimated at 7,000,- 
000,000 feet. 

The Florida cracker, or cowboy, takes his soubriquet from the art he has of 
cracking a long leather whip, with a report which may be heard at half a mile's 
distance. 

In a journal kept by John Bartram, and published in 1763, is found this descrip- 
tion of the cabbage-palm : "We cut down three tall palm or cabbage trees, and cut 
out the top bud, the white tender parts or the rudiments of the great leaves, which 
will be six or seven foot long when full grown, and the palmed part four in diameter ; 
this tender part will be three or four inches in diameter, tapering near a foot and cuts 
as white and tender as a turnip ; this they slice into a pot and stew with water, then, 
when almost tender, they pour some bear's oil into it and stew it a little longer, when it 
eats pleasant and much more mild than a cabbage. I never eat half so much cabbage 
at a time, and it agreed the best with me of any sauce I ever eat either alone or with 
meat." 

"THE POSEY DANCE." 

The posey dance, now become obsolete, was in 1817 of frequent occurrence in St. 
Augustine, and is described as follows : " The ladies of the family erect in a room of 
their house a neat little arbor, dressed with pots and garlands of flowers and lit up 
brightly with candles. This is understood by the gentlemen as an invitation to drop in 
and admire the beauty of decorations ; in the meantime the lady who has prepared it 
selects a partner from among her visitors, and, in token of her preference, honors him 
with a bouquet of flowers ; the gentleman who receives the bouquet becomes then, for 
the hour, the king of the ball, and leads out the fair donor as queen of the dance ; the 



A dvertisements. 

The Floral City Route. 



Florida Central and Western Railroad. 



Are You Going to FLORIDA this Season? 

If so, be sure and ask for tickets reading via the Pensacola & At- 
lantic and Florida Central & Western Railroads, thus securing you a 
DAYLIGHT RIDE through 

The Famous Hill Country of Middle, Florida ; 

To Jacksonville. Fla. ; to all points on the St. John's River ; and 
via the Florida Transit & Peninsular Railroad into the Peninsula. 

SOLID TRAINS, PENSACOLA TO JACKSONVILLE. 

PULLMAN SLEEPERS, NEW ORLEANS TO JACKSONVLLLE. 

Rich Lands! Red Clay Hills! 

Picturesque Scenery ! 
Elegant Drives ! Superb Hunting and Fishing ! 

Beautiful Flowers! 

Are to be found and enjoyed in the Tallahassee Country. 



STOP-OVER PRIVILEGES CAN BE SECURED ON ALL TICKETS 



Do not fail to embrace this opportunity to enjoy the extraordinary 
facilities offered by this New Short Line recently opened to 

ALL FLORIDA POINTS. 

For further information or copy of new descriptive pamphlet, " From 
the Apalachicola to the St. John's," apply to 

Wm. M. DAVIDSON, WILLIAM O. AMES, 

General Manager. Gen. Freight and Pass. Agent. 
JACKSONVILLE, FLA. 



194 Items of Interest. 

others take partners, and the ball is thus inaugurated. Should the lady's choice fall 
upon an unwilling swain, he may be excused by assuming the expenses of the enter- 
tainment." These assemblies were always informal and frequented by all classes, all 
meeting on a level, but were conducted with the utmost politeness and decorum. 

The "Patgoe " dance, of Western Florida, was as great a favorite in the western 
part of the State as the Posey was in the east, and is described by the same author : 
"A wooden bird is fixed on a pole and carried through the city by some slaves. On 
presenting it to the ladies, they make an offering of a piece of ribbon of any length or 
color ; this is fixed to the bird : a time and place is then set apart for the fair patrons of 
the Patgoe to assemble, attended by their beaux with rifles. The Patgoe is then set up 
at a proper distance and shot at, and the fortunate marksman who first succeeds in 
striking it is proclaimed king. The Patgoe then becomes his by right, and he presents 
it to the lady of his choice." 

The assessed value of land in Leon County, owned by colored people, is $30,000, 
and their property in Tallahassee is assessed at $34,670 ; 825 horses, 2 015 cattle, 107 
sheep, 2,318 hogs # valued at $59,494, with personal property to the amount of $15,436. 
This makes an aggregate of $184,405. 

Three pairs of ostriches were shipped from New York to Sylvan Lake, Florida, in 
October last. They were consigned to Mr. Charlton Jones, who intends to try the 
experiment of breeding from the parent birds and raising ostriches for their feathers. 

\ 

The first horses in this country were those landed in Florida in 1527 by Cabeca 
da Vaca. 

The ships of the Boston and Savannah Steamship Company are among the finest 
that ply along the Atlantic coast. Mrs. Harriet Beecher Stowe and family returned 
to their Florida home by one of them this winter. 

The proximity of Fortress Monroe to the Hygeia Hotel at Old Point Comfort, 
Virginia, is a source of never-ending pleasure to the guests of that popular' resort. The 
young officers pursuing their studies at the artillery school established there are always 
ready to dance at the hotel hops, and in watching the troops on dress parade, or in 
listening to the music of the splendid military band, the guests find a pleasure that is 
renewed each day. 

Electricity as a motive power has been successfully applied to the cars of the Mt. 
McGregor Railway, connecting Saratoga with the new Hotel Balmoral, ten miles 
distant. 

During the last year street railways have been built or begun in Pensacola, Key 
West, Sanford, and Orlando. 

The "red horse sucker" is a copper-colored fish, only caught in Aucilla River, 
Florida. It is extremely rare, and is considered as fine eating as the shad; 

One hundred and fifty-two oranges depended in a single cluster from the limb of 
a La Grange (Indian River) orangetree this season. 

A new steamer, the City of Palatka, has taken the place of the old favorite 
St. John's on the line between Charleston, S.C. ,and Palatka. 

During the season the shipment of oranges from Jacksonville over the waycross 
branch of the Savannah, Florida and Western Railway averages 3, ceo boxes per day. 

Lake City was formerly the home of Alligator, a famous Seminole war chief, and 
was at first called, in honor of him, " Alligator." 



A dvertisements. 1 95 

FLORIDA TRANSIT 

and PENINSULAR RR. 

(THE GOLDEN FRUIT ROUTE). 

To the Winter Homes and Pleasure Resorts of Florida, 

CONNECTING 

The North, East and West {by all Routes) with the Principal Towns and Cities 
on the Gulf of Mexico. 

PASSENGER SERVICE DOUBLE DAILY. 

Elegant Parlor-cars on Day Trains and 

Splendid Sleeping-cars on All-night Trains. 

THIS IS THE SHORTEST 

and only direct route to Waldo, Gainesville, Cedar Key, Tampa, Manatee, 
Punta Rassa, Key West, Havana, and the West India Islands. 

There is no line in the State that presents such a variety of attractions to the 
visitors of Florida. Its Atlantic and Gulf Termini (Fernandina and Cedar Key) are 
especially noted as points where pleasant days may be spent, the Hunting, Fishing, 
and Boating being exceptionally good. Fernandina has her elegant Egmont Hotel 
and Grand Sea Beach, 20 miles long, noted as the finest driving course in the world, 
with a climate unequaled in the South, while Cedar Key has her elegant Suwanee 
Hotel and Grand Bay, where Boating is indulged in to one's delight, and surrounded 
by a coast where every variety of game is so plentiful that it has earned the sobriquet 
of the Sportsman's Paradise. 

THE PENINSULAR DIVISION, 

diverging at Waldo, 84 miles south of Fernandina, runs almost direct south, passing 
through what may be properly termed the Orange Belt of Florida. Along this pictur- 
esque line the famous groves of Bishop and Harris, on Orange Lake, are passed, pre- 
senting to the traveler a grand avenue of a mile in length, hedged by mammoth trees 
laden with their golden fruit. Millions of orange-trees in groves large and small may 
be seen along this Tropical Division of the great Transit Line. No one should visit 
Florida without making at least one trip over the Peninsular Division. This is the 
shortest and only rail line to Hawthorn, Orange Lake, Silver Springs, Ocala, 
Lake WlER, Wildwood, Leesburg, and the beautiful Ocklawaha Lake Region, 
Lake PANASOFFKEE, connecting there with boats for points on the Withlacoochee 
River, unrivaled for its magnificent Tropical Scenery. 

SILVER SPRING, 

famous for its beauty, is the point of transfer to the Ocklawaha Steamers for all points 
on that picturesque stream. At Panasoffkee connection is made with Daily Stage 
Line for Tampa, Brooksville, Sumterville, and Fort Dade. 

THE FERNANDINA AND JACKSONVILLE 
SHORT LINE 

connects the two principal cities of East Florida — Fernandina and Jacksonville — by 
Double Daily Trains with schedules adapted to close connection with the Palace 
Steamers of the POPULAR SeaIsLAND Route, and the Superb Ocean Steamships of the 
MALLORY Link for New York. Passengers should remember that Fernandina, Calla- 
han, and Baldwin are the points of transfer to the Transit Line, and MONEY and 
TIME can b^ saved by buying tickets direct to points named above. Through tickets 
on sale at all coupon offices in the principal cities North, East, and West, and at all 
Leve & Alden's Tourist offices. Sure connection made at Callahan and Baldwin for 
Fernandina and all points South. 
D. E. MAXWELL, Gen'l Supt., WALTER G. COLEMAN, Gen'l Traveling Am., 

Fernandina, Fla. Jacksonville, Fla. 

A. 0, MacDONELL, GenTPass. and Tkt. Agt., 

Fernandina, Fla. 



196 Items of Interest. 

Lake Wier, in Marion County, near Ocala, one of the most beautiful sheets of 
water in Florida, has now an all-rail communication with the rest "of the world. With 
one hotel, just finished, at Stanton, and another being built, it promises to achieve the 
popularity as a winter resort that it deserves. 

A steam railway is being built from De Land to the St. John's River. There is no 
city in Florida exhibiting more characteristics of Northern thrift and enterprise than 
De Land. 

Mrs. Ellen Gall Long, of Tallahassee, has in her possession a trunk full of letters, 
written by Andrew Jackson to her father, General Richard Call, who was one of the 
most intimate and trusted friends of the hero of New Orleans. 

This winter's travelers, bound for the smaller Gulf ports along the west coast of 
Florida, will find the steamers Eliza Hancox and Flora plying between Cedar Keys 
and Clearwater Harbor, and touching at intermediate landings, wonderfully convenient. 

The Hudson River is world-renowned for the beauty of its scenery ; but at no 
point along its course is presented a view so widespread and wonderful as at the 
northern end of the Haverstraw tunnel, on the New York, West Shore and Buffalo 
Railway. \ 

All strangers in Jacksonville should seek an introduction to Togni. 

The most expert fisherman in Florida is Dr. C. J. Kenworthy, of Jacksonville, 
the " Al Fresco " of Forest and Stream. 

The Murat place, near Tallahassee, once the residence of the Princess Achille 
Murat, has been purchased by a Northern man. 

Governor Bloxham calls his fine plantation, a few miles out from Tallahassee, 
" Buena Vista." 

During the winter the finest orchestral music in Florida is that heard every after- 
noon and evening at the Windsor Hotel, at Jacksonville. This is the favorite resort 
of New Yorkers. 

The Seminole Indians still remaining in Florida number in all about 600 souls. 
They inhabit the extreme southern part of the peninsula, and are divided into five 
bands, which are to be found on the Miami River, in the Big Cypress Swamp, on 
Fish-eating Creek, on Cow Creek, and in the Fort Gardiner Hammock. These Semi- 
noles are full-blooded Indians, all stories of their infusion of negro blood to the con- 
trary, and the men, tall, straight, and handsomely formed, are as fine specimens of ab- 
original natives as are to be found on this continent. 

The name of the once dreaded Seminole chieftain should be spelled Oceola, and 
not Osceola, as is common. A number of his descendants are still to be found among 
the Florida Indians. 

The most famous alligator hunter in Florida is Frank Lefils — pronounced Lefees 
— who pursues his venturesome calling on the waters of Lake Okeechobee and the 
Lower Kissimmee River. 

The halloa or cow call of the South Florida cattle-hunters is a long-drawn, melo- 
dious cry, as thrilling and distinctive as the Tyrolese warble. 

Rock for building the jetties, at the mouth of the St. John's River, and on the 
Volusia Bar, at the upper end of Lake George, is carried thither from New York, 
where it is blasted, from the new streets being cut through the upper portion of that 

city. 



A dvertisetnents. 

Speed ! Safety ! Comfort ! Economy ! 

/^cean Steamship Company 

^-^ Eof Savannah. 

— THE POPULAR ROUTES BETWEEN — 

New York, Philadelphia and Florida, 
—new york line- 




CONSISTING of the New Iron Steamships 
City Of AugUSta, Capt, K. S. Nickerson. Tallahassee, Capt. Fisher. 
Chattahoochee, Capt. E. H. Daggett. NaCOOChee, Capt. Kempton. 

Sailing from New York and Savannah, 

As per advertisements in New York, Savannah and Jacksonville papers. 

PHILADELPHIA LINE: 

City Of Savannah, Capt. Catharine. City Of MaCOn, Capt. S.L. Nickerson. 

Sailing rrom Philadelphia and Savannah. 

As per advertisements in Philadelphia, Savannah and Jacksonville papers. 

Each Steamship being provided with an Electric Light, there is no delay in Savannah River 
by night. 

All of the above vessels have been completed since 1877. They are of great strength and speed. 
and the accommodations for passengers are unsurpassed. 

Close connections made with the SAVANNAH, FLORIDA & WESTERN R R. WAY- 
CROSS SHORT LINE, and The Sea Island Route, Inland Line Steamers, to and from 
Florida (stateroom and meals included with first-class ticket.) Running time between New York or 
Philadelphia and Jacksonville 

Reduced to Sixty Hours. 

por Circulars and other information, apply to 

G. M. SORRELL, Agent, Savannah, Ga. 
WM. L. JAMES. Agent, HENRY YONGE, Agent, 

13 South Third St., Philadelphia. New Pier 35, N. R., N. Y 

Henry R. Christian, Gen'l Soliciting Agent for Florida. 



198 Items of Interest. 

From the river, Mrs. Stowe's house, at Mandarin, is marked by two gigantic live- 
oaks that shelter it. 

Quite a large and constantly increasing colony of young Englishmen is located at 
Mandarin. 

A transfer, for passengers and baggage, from the steamboat landing to the rail- 
road has recently been established in Palatka. 

Alligator oil has an unpleasant odor, but is capital for both illuminating and. 
lubricating purposes. 

In the St. Mark's Hotel, Jacksonville, is a pet deer which sometimes finds its way 
upstairs and all over the house. 

Among the steamers plying on Florida waters, New Yorkers will recognize many 
familiar names. Among them are the John Sylvester, Eliza Hancox, Sylvan Glen, St. 
Nicholas, Seth Low, Cadet, and Arm smear. 

The route from Jacksonville to St. Augustine, via Tocoi and the % St. John's 
Railroad, owes its popularity to the pleasant combination of steamboat and rail travel 
thus offered. . 

A magnificent new hotel is being built in St. Augustine, by the proprietor of the 
Maplewood, in Bethlehem, N. H., and the Magnolia on the St. John's River ; but it 
will not be completed this season. 

The Peninsular Railroad, which leaves the Transit at Waldo and runs south to 
Ocala and beyond, passes directly through the heart of the great Harris orange grove. 
So closely do the orange-trees overhang the track, that passengers can almost pluck the 
golden fruit by reaching from the car windows. 

Only two battles were fought oh Florida soil during the civil war, one at Olustee, 
on the line of the F. C. & W. R. R., and one at the Natural Bridge, across the St. 
Mark's River, near Tallahassee. In both of these the Federal forces were defeated. 

A yacht club, of which several prominent New York yachtsmen are members, has 
recently been formed at New Smyrna, on the Halifax River. 

The "gate of the Ocklawaha" is formed by two immense cypress-trees, growing 
in the water so close to each other that there is barely room for the steamer to pass be- 
tween them. They stand just above the Eureka landing, and are usually passed by the 
up-bound boats about midnight. 

In Florida, as indeed throughout the South, the term " evening" is applied to the 
time between noon and sunset, and not from sunset to midnight, as in the North. 
Consequently, when a young lady invites you to walk with her this evening, you must 
not anticipate a stroll by moonlight. 

The Walls of Dungenness, the historical mansion once occupied by General 
Nathaniel Greene, on Cumberland Island, near Fernandina, have been demolished, and 
the foundations of the palace that Mr. Andrew Carnagie, of Pittsburg, proposes to 
erect upon the same site, are being laid. 

The Ohio River steamer, Bertha Lee, which is to run on the Okeechobee route 
this winter, was 54 days in making the trip from St. Louis, by way of the Mississippi, 
the Gulf, the Caloosahatchie River, Lake Okeechobee, and the Kissimmee, to Kissim- 
mee City. 

The waste liquid product of turpentine stills is called " low wine." 



A dvertisements. 1 99 

Savannah, Florida, 
& W ESTERN Railway 



WAYCROSS SHORT LINE." 



The ONLY ROUTE to all WINTER RESORTS in America. 

Florida, New Orleans, Texas, New and Old Mexico, 
Arizona, California, and Cuba. 



The management of the SAVANNAH, FLORIDA & WESTERN RAILWAY, 
•'Waycross Short Line," desires to present to the traveling public a concise description 
of the new, improved, and extended system between the North, East, West, and the South. 
The completion of the extension of the SAVANNAH, FLORIDA & WESTERN 
RAILWAY to a connection with the PENSACOLA & ATLANTIC RAILROAD 
opens a direct all-rail line from all Eastern and Northern points to I'ensacola, Mobile, 
New Orleans, Southwes-i ekn Louisiana, Houston, Galveston, Austin, San 
Antonio, Eastern and Middle Texas, New and Old Mexico, Arizona and 
California. 

THE CHARLESTON & SAVANNAH RAILWAY 

(under the same management as the Savannah, Florida & Western Railway) has been put 
in thorough condition, with a new Iron Bridge over the Savannah River, and the entire 
road laid with steel rails. 

The "Wavcross Short Line" gives to Charleston and the East a continuous steel- 
rail line to JACKSONVILLE, FLA. 

The consolidation of the South Florida Railroad, now in operation between Sanford 
and Kissimmee, with our system, insures its completion to Tampa by or before the first of 
January next. Upon its completion to the Gulf, it is the purpose of the management to 
place a line of steamships on the route between Tampa, Key West, and Havana, built 
especially with a view to safety, speed, and the utmost comfort and luxury. The time 
between Tampa and Havana will not exceed twenty-eight hours, and between New York 
and Havana about three days and a half. At Tampa, connection will be made by coastwise 
steamer for all points on the Manatee River, Clear Water Harbor, Anclote, etc. 

The elegant service of PULLMAN PALACE BUFFET AND DRAWING-ROOM 
SLEEPERS, inaugurated from New York and Washington to Charleston, Savannah, and 
Jacksonville direct, having met the unqualified approval of the traveling public, has been 
extended to New Orleans by the new line, via Chattahoochee, making but ONE CHANGE 
OF CARS BETWEEN NEW YORK AND NEW ORLEANS, at Savannah. 

For Time-Tables, Guide-Books (new Guide to South Georgia and Florida will be issued 
October next), Rates and General Information, by All Routes, Rail or Steamship, address 

Florida Headquarters, 
271 BROADWAY, cor. Chambers St., New York. 

J AS. L. TAYLOR, C. D. OWENS, 

Cen'l Tass. Agent, Savannah, Ga. General Agents, N. Y. 

JONAH H. WHITE, Eastern Pass. Agt., 
271 Broadway, Nbw Yokk. 



2oo Items of Interest. 

The manatee, or sea-cow, though almost extinct in this country, still exists on the 
south-eastern coast of Florida, where an occasional specimen may be discovered. 

There is no fresh water in Key West other than that caught during rainfalls and 
stored in cisterns. 

The only military post still maintained by the United States Government in 
Florida is at St. Augustine. 

An alligator's principal weapon of offense and defense is his tail. 

Baby alligators are greedily devoured by their hungry papas. 

The fish most difficult to capture in Florida waters is the tarpon. 

The so-called " Wakulla Volcano " is located in Jefferson County, near the AuciTIa 
River, and about thirty miles from Tallahassee. 

The "La Rue Mansion," which figures so prominently in Maurice Thompson's 
novel, " A Tallahassee Girl," is owned by Mr. R. C. Long, and was built by his 
grandfather, Governor Call. 

Prince Achille Murat, son of the King of Naples, lies buried in the Episcopal 
cemetery of Tallahassee. 

The space enclosed by the old Spanish fort at St. Augustine is used by winter 
visitors as a tennis-ground. 

Outing, a handsome illustrated monthly magazine, published in Boston, devotes 
much space during the winter months to descriptions of Florida resorts. 

One of the Annual's most valued exchanges is Leve and Alden's American 
Tourist Gazette. Its columns are filled with the very essence of travel, and contain 
explicit directions for reaching the most delightful summer and winter resorts. 

The exquisite colored plates, published by the Art Interchange, of New York, 
place it among the foremost of the art journals of the day. 

Many of the best recent articles on Florida have been published in Harper's 
Weekly. 

The valuation of Florida property for the year 1883 was $50, 750,000, an increase of 
$4,000,000 over that of 1882. 

A Florida industry, that promises good results in the near future, is the raising of 
spring chickens for the New York market. Shipping should begin early in March and 
continue until about the 1st of July. 

The wife of a New Jersey farmer has cleared and safely invested $6,000 in the last 
ten years, by raising poultry. Why cannot Florida women do as well? 

The Pensacola Commercial says that the moss crop of Florida is worth more than the 
cotton, and can be put on the market at less expense. The demand exceeds the supply, 
and there is not a county in the State in which this product is not going to waste. 

Many experienced orange-growers say that high pine, or mixed oak and pine lands, 
are the best for orange culture. Hammock land is better for vegetables. 



201 



A dvertiscmcnts. 

"Finest Equipped Trains in Service." 



NEW YORK, 
WEST SHORE, 

and BUFFALO R'Y. 




^O 



tftfc 



DOUBLE TRACK 

TRUNK LINE 

BETWEEN NEW YORK, ALBANY, UTICA, SYRACUSE, 
MONTREAL AND QUEBEC, 

Via WEST SHORE OF HUDSON RIVER and the MOHAWK VALLEY. 

AT JERSEY CITY connection is made in Union Depot for Philadelphia. Baltimore, Washing- 
ton, Harrisburg, Jersey Coast Resorts, and all points reached by Pennsylvania Railroad. * 

BROOKLYN ANNEX STEAMERS will convey passenger and baggage from Jersey City 
Station to the foot of Fulton Street, Brooklyn, avoiding a double ferriage and long transfer through 
New York City. 

NEW YORK passengers will be landed at Cortlandt, Desbrosses and Thirty-fourth Streets, con- 
venient to Street Car Lines and Elevated Railroad Stations. 

THE NEW YORK TRANSFER COMPANY will ha%-e Agents on trains to arrange for con- 
veyance of passengers and baggage to hotels, residences, steamer piers and railway depots. 



^PULLMAN'S BUFFET, PARLOR k SLEEPING CARS ON ALL THROUGH TRAINS J&> 
The New York, West Shore and Buffalo Railway ^DZbiexSlJd 

Rail Line between Syracuse nnd New York, preparatory to an early opening for PASSENGER and 
FREIGHT TRAFFIC between NEW YORK, BUFFALO and the'WEST. 



Trains of the NEW YORK, WEST SHORE AND BUFFALO RAILWAY arrive and 
depart from the Jersey City Depot of the Pennsylvania Railroad. 



Tickets, Time Tables, etc., can be obtained at the Company's Stations and at the following 
offices of the Company : 

In Hcboken, Lusche's Hotel, and No. 254 Washington Street. 

In Jersey City, Pennsylvania Railroad Station. 

In Brooklyn, No. 4 Court Street, Brooklyn Annex Office, foot of Fulton Street, ani No. 7 De 
Kalb Avenue. 

IN NEW YORK CITY: 

No. 419 and 1323 Broadway ; No. 1 68 East 1 25tn Street, Harlem. 

,; 207 Broadway, Leve it. Alden, Pennsylvania R. R. Station, foot of 

Tourist Office. Desbrosses St. 

No 261 B'way. Thos. Cook & Son Pennsylvania R. R. Station, foot of 

Tourist Office. Cortlandt St. 



No, 946 Broadway, near Madison Sqr. 
•' 737 Sixth Avenue, cor. 42d St. 
" 5 Union Square. 
" 162 B'way, American Exchange 
Tourist Office. 



FOR INFORMATION not obtainable at Ticket Offices, address 

HENRY MONETT, Gen. Pass'ger Ag't, 24 State St., New York. 



202 Items of Interest. 

A seven-pound citron rejoices the heart of a grower near Lake Beresford. 

December is apt to be a rainy month in Northern Florida. 

The most charming months of the year in Florida are February, March, and April. 

Iathloc Island, in the Homosassa River, four miles from its mouth, was once the 
home of the Seminole chief, Tiger Tail. He was much attached to the place, and 
fought hard to retain it, but was finally driven away. It is said that tears stood in the 
eyes of the stern old warrior as he stepped into his canoe and tu'rned for a last look at his 
beloved island. 

Jacksonville, St. Augustine, and New Smyrna have yacht clubs. The first named 
owns the best club-house, the second the largest fleet and is the best known, and the 
last named is located on the best cruising-ground. 

If you want to learn why Florida is called the Land of Flowers, go to Tallahassee, 
the " Floral City," about the first of April. 

The second steam railroad built in the United States to a sea-port was that, still in 
operation, from Tallahassee to the old port of St. Mark's on the Gulf coast. The first 
ran inland from Charleston, S. C. 

The handsomest railway stations in this country are those of the New York, West 
. Shore and Buffalo Railway. 

No seaside hotel in the country offers such a varied round of attractions to its guests 
as the Hygeia at Old Point Comfort, Va. 

At Mandarin, on the St. John's River fifteen miles above Jacksonville, maybe seen 
magnificent full-grown specimens of the date-palm and olive trees. : 

The most rare and curious blossoms in Mrs. Stowe's flower-garden, on the banks of 
the St. John's, are those of her ginger-plants. 

Far out at sea along the Gulf coast of Florida are several springs of fresh water. 
They are well known to the spongers and fishermen, who frequently visit them to re- 
plenish their water-casks. On this same coast is an oil spring which diffuses a calm 
over troubled waters and affords a safe refuge to small vessels during a gale. 

The Seminolcs place the bodies of their dead in log sepulchres carefully con- 
structed. * 

Florida colonels are as numerous as Georgia majors. 

From the office of the Florida Annual may be obtained one of the finest and 
most extended views in New York City. 

The Jacksonville Times-Union is one of the largest and finest daily newspapers in 
the South ; but it only celebrated its second birthday last Thanksgiving Day. 

The oldest newspaper in Florida is the Tallahassee Floridian, published weekly at 
the State capital and founded in 1828. 

A great amount of the most interesting and valuable material is now being collected 
for the Annual for 1885, which will be issued next October. 



Advertisements. 203 



•1200 FEET ABOVE THE SEA- 



Mount • McGregor 



•10 Miles North of Saratoga- 



With which it is connected by the most elegantly equipped 
Railroad in America 



HOTEL 



* * * 



BALMORAL 



WILL OPEN JUNE 1, 1884 



Jgjf Circulars on application. 



ADDRESS 



Saratoga, ML McGregor & L. G. R. R. Co. 
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N. Y. 



204 



Items of Interest. 



The following is an imperfect vocabulary of Seminole words, noted down phonet- 
ically, as they were learned, by a white visitor to the Everglades : 



A-che-nah, cedar 
A-ko-la, green 
Ah-hah, potato 
A-lat-ka, oak 
A-lat-ka chumpa, live, oak 
Al-la-ha, orange 
Al-la-pat-ta, alligator 
Ah-che-tah, blanket 
Ah-o-wah, I, myself 
A-chee, corn 

Bees-lo, canoe 

Cas-a-lal-ki, drum 

Cat-sha, tiger 

Chit-ta, snake 

Chu-li, pine 

Chas-ta-lay, water-melon 

Coonii hat-he, starch-root 

Chat-wah, small 

Chat-te, red 

Chumpa, sweet 

Chee, indicates plural — as, E-chee, deer; 

E-chee-chee, many deer 
Chac-ti-ka, feather 
Chat-ske, mother 
Chase, brother 
Chak-poot-se, son 
Chak-shos-te, daughter 
Che-paw-ne, boy 
Chap-i-wah, wife 
Chuc-co, square 
Cha-co, house 
Chas-see, pumpkin, 
Chak-e-sha, beads 
Cham-pah, basket 
Chut-ta-nah, hair 

Eto Micco, Red Bay 
E-cho-loco, horse 
E-chee, deer 

E-po-la, place of dancing 
E-chas-u-ta-ka, rifle 
E-mathla, leader 
E-chu-puk-zvah, pipe 
E-cun-rah, ground 
E-re, mine 
E-pah, dog 
E-la-tus, wood . 
E-wan-mahy sister 
E-cha-su-cah, tobacco-bag 

Fo-mis-cha, musk-melon 
Fut-cho, duck 
Fus-chattc, red-bird 
Eus-wa-ha-ya, mocking-bird 

Git-lok-stha , I do not understand 

Hi, what 



Hi-wah, woman 

Ho-nah, dress 

Hai-ke, white 

Hah-no, maple 

Hup-pe, owl 

Hat-chee, little river (creek) 

Has-se, sun / 

Htik-sa-ke, covering 

He-lah, dresser of deer-skins 

Hi-e-lah, expression of surprise 

Hi-e-pas, I go 

Uulk-zoah, ) t , 
tt i r bad 

Ho-le-wa-gus, ) 

Hindk-sta, good 

Hindle-mah, too good 

Hel-o-coppe, gum 

Hun-e-lah, hand 

Htt-la-lah, wind 

Hoc-to-chee, girl 

Hars-ka-tot-ka, ear-ring 

Heep-a-non-est-cha, good-bye 

Ha-list chumpa, sweet stick (sugar-cafle) 

Hatch-u-chee, branch 

Htttte-chumpa, stars 

Ho-mo-sassa, Pepper Range 

Iste, he, -a person 

Iste-hatke, white man 

Iste-chatte, red man 

Iste-lustee, black man 

Is-ne-sah, trader 

Itto, tree 

Itto-micco, chief tree (magnolia; 

Ko-wik-a, gopher 
Kup-ha-tu-ka, hat 
Ka-chuk-a-na-sis , short 

Lut-cha, turtle 
La-ne, yellow 

Micco, chief 

Mas-cha, increases size or length 

Man-i-chee, young 

Nini, trail 
Neth-la, day 
Neth-lce, night 
Nun-to-ka, man 

Oha, you 
• O-ke-pah, mosquito 
O-ke-iok-su, magnolia 
Ol-i-ga-tali, chair 
O-ho-me-pce-tah, table 
Oos-cah, rain 
Oka-kan-a-iuah, salt 

Pah-he, grass 
Poch-e-lah-nc, paroquet 



Advertisements. 205 

THE PHILADELPHIA FISHING TACKLE HOUSE. 




MANUFACTURERS OF FINE FISHING TACKLE OF EVERY DESCRIPTION. 

Tackle for Fishing in Florida Waters a Specialty. 

Our celebrated Bcthabara Wood Rods are stronger than Split Bamboo, and as tough and elastic as 
tempered steel. 

A. B. SHIPLEY & SON, 

503 Commerce Street, Philadelphia, Pa. 

EUROPEAN PLAN. 



4 



No. 18 EAST BAY STREET- 

/y, ^>^ Two doors West of Post Office 



> 



> 



^ 



I 



/ 



FIRST-CLASS 
Restaurant 

attached, 
Where Regular Meals are-served- 
Breakfast, 30f. Dinner, 35^. Slipper, 30r. 



-JACKSONVILLE, Fla. 

^street cars from all depots and steam- 
ers stop at the door. 

Rooms, 50 Cents per Day and 



>/l/" j > S s Upwards. Rooms for two, 

J ^ ^\75 Cents per Day and 

O X,. Upwards, accord- 

^pC N. ing to size and 

"ocation. 






# 



/ 



At the Order Department a'.l the delicacies in their seascn will be served to 
order at moderate prices. 

F. BETTELINI, Proprietor. 

JOHN B. TOGNI, 

Dealer in Choice Liquors, 

Imported Wines, Porter, Ale, Lager Beer, and Bass Ale. 

Choice Havana and Domestic Cigars, 1 obacco. 

Sample RoOmS A Hacked | gay Street,_" nder Metropolitan Opera House, 
With Seven New Billiard Tables. T acksOIlville, Fla. 



206 



Items of Interest. 



Pem-mi-wah, turkey 
Patch-e-cho-le, dove 
Pet-che, pigeon 
Po-ko, ball 

Pul-chits-wah, hatchet 
Pith-lo, boat 
Pilat-ka, ford 

Seminole, patriot 
Soc-o-te-mat-ka, tiger tail 
Suc-cot-sha, all gone 
Sof-kee, soup 
Sla-po-lah, needle 
Stil-la-pi-cah, moccasin 
Soo-at-ka, scissors 
Sa-put-ka, frog 
Soc-a-pa-ka, pelican 
Soo-le, buzzard 
Suc-bul-bah, bat 
Sa-puth-at-ke , light 
So-pah, blue 
Saf-ka, knife 

Toot-cah, fire 
Too-ka-no-wah, money 
Ta-Iah, palm 
Ta-la-loko, palmetto 
Tok-li-ke, bread 
To-ka-le, mole 
Tus-te-mtgge, warrior 
To-ko-ne, racket-stick 
Tal-o-pha, town 
To-po-pe-ke, pen 
7V/«, bed 
To- fa, feather 
Tuk-sa-ke, shirt 
To-ti-ke, fire 



Ten-et-ke, thunder 
Tim-pa-nah, council-house 

Un-gar, yes 
£//-m?, tall 
6V-&', tribe 
U-che-an-tho, cypress 
U-pe-ta-ka, leggings 

We-wa, water 

We-ki-wa, cold water (spring) 

Wy-o-mi, whiskey 

With-la-coo, river 

Wet-i-ka, lake 

Wa-cah, cow 

Wa-co, heron 

Wah-to-lah, sandhill crane 

Yal-la-ha, sweet orange 
Yal-la-ha-at-7iiaks, sour orange 
Ya-ha, wolf 
Yah-chi-la-ne, eagle 
Yo-not-cha, dark 
Yat-ti-ka, orator 

NUMERALS. 

Ha7n-kin, one 
Ho-co-lin, two 
Tut-sa-nan, three 
Oos-teu, four 
Choc-ta-pin, five 
E-par-kin, six 
Co-la-par-kin, seven 
Sen-na-par-kin, eight 
Oos-to-par-kin, nine 
Par-lin, ten 



Advertisements. 207 

The Art Interchange. 



The Leading Journal of Art Work. 

The Art Interchange is a thoroughly practical, intelligible, inexpensive art journal, It is de- 
voted to decorative, household, and pictorial art, home art work, literary and art news, and questions 
and answers. It is handsomely i.lustrated with leading examples of art, besides giving full-size work- 
ing patterns of standard decorative designs, for the use of amateurs and professional art students, 
workers in ceramics, art needlework, and the kindred minor decorative arts. 

COLORED PLATES. 

This new feature has been added to the other departments of The Art Interchange in response 
to requests from hundreds of amateurs who find it impossible to obtain satisfactory working designs 
in color unless they order them direct from artists at a cost of from fifteen dollars and upward. Great 
care has been taken to secure the services of artists of the first rank and to have- the designs especially 
adapted to the requirements of art students. 

BRASS HAMMMERING. 

This newest art occupation receives ample attention, and the difficulties of individual workers in 
repousse are explained. Designs for borders, trays, tiles, candlesticks, paper tops, etc., are published 
regularly. 

Instructions and suggestions are given in art needlework, painting on textiles, wood, china, and 
glass; wood-carving, mural decoration, art furnishing, modeling, etching, drawn work, sketching on 
linen, tapestry painting, etc., etc. 

NOTES, QUESTIONS, AND ANSWERS. 

The Note and Query Department is open to all enquirers without charge. Here all difficulties are 
clearly explained and removed as they arise. The answers are prompt, authoritative, thorough, and im- 
partial, and are considered invaluable by all who read them. They cover questions of building and 
artistic furnishing, all classes of decorative and industrial art work, and are useful not only to amateurs, 
but to teachers and schools. They are open also to literary questions and those relating to etiquette, 
and the information there published would be very difficult to obtain from any othersource, and would 
in most cases involve some expense to t he questioner; for a single example, the schemesof color deco- 
ration and artistic furnishing for rooms, published to meet individual wants, but of advantage to all 
subscribers. If supplied to enquirers other than through the paper, these would cost at least twenty- 
five dollars. 

Special illustrations are published when requested. 

SUPPLEMENT 1 ' of full-size working designs giving decorative patterns suitable for tracing or copy- 
ing, with directions for their practical application, are a regular feature. Extra double sheet supple- 
ments are issued periodically. The illustrations in< hide designs for all forms of embroidery, painting 
on textiles, silk, satin, felt, plush, and china ; working in metal, sketching on linen and suggestions for 
cabinet work. 

Book Reviews form a special department of the paper, and the best writers of the day are em- 
ployed. 

To sum up: The Art Interchange gives in each year— 

Thirteen — 13 — Full- page Colored Studies by the first artists and teachers. 

Outline Pattern Supplements in every number, each containing several separate designs of full 
working size, on tough, thin paper for tracing. 

Over three hundred — 3:0 — illustrations of other art objects which give hints and suggestive 
examples very useful to decorators, amateurs, and workers in all the varied brandies of art work. 

Nearly one thousand — i,oco — columns of text by the best writers on all art, art work, and literary 
topics. 

It comes to subscribers twenty-six times a year, which is more than twice as often as any other 
art journal. 

Its price is as follows : 

SINGLE RATES OF SUBSCRIPTION. 

One Year, . $3.00 

Si:t Months, 1.50 

Thre- Months, i.eo 

Recent issue, with Colored Plate, sent as sample copy on receipt of ten cents ; 
also a catalogue of other illustrated art work publications. 

william jvhitloca: 

140 Nassau Street, New York. 



f- 



J 



Advertisements. 

acksonville, St. Augustine and 

Halifax River Railway 

—THE NEW ROUTE BETWEEN— 

acksonville & gt. yY u g us ^ ne 

Triple Daily Passenger Service. 



. ^HE pLORIDA ^OURIST 

during past years has experienced great trouble and expense in 
order to make a visit to the interesting, ancient Spanish city of 

Saint Augustine, Fla. 

Now, the visitor, instead of being compelled to make a tedious, all- 
day journey by water and rail or stage, can avoid such delays and 

Make the Trip in One Hour 



— VIA THE — 



Jacksonville, S t# A u & ust * ne an d Halifax River Railway 

EQUIPMENT UNSURPASSED 

Air- Brakes, Miller Platforms and Coupler; all 
Modern Improvements. 

Insuring Fast Time, Comfort, Safety and Polite Attention! 



I^ourists' Tickets at Reduced Rates. 

Lowest Rates for Freight and Passage. 



W. L. CRAWFORD, II. S. MING, G. D. ACKERLY, 

General Manager, Superintendent, Gen'l Fr't and Pass. Agt. 



JACKSONVILLE, FLA. 



Broad Gauge ! Well Ballasted ! 

NO DUST! SMOOTH TRACK! 



3t. John's Railway 



-OF- 



^FLORIDA=^ 

RIVER AND RAIL ROUTE TO 
S T - A UGUSTINE ' 



£LOSE CONNECTIONS MADE WITH STEAMERS. 
Trains leave Tocci at 12 m. and 3:45 p. m. 

Fare one way, - - $ .88 

Round trip, 1-50 

Fare from Jacksonville to St. Augustine, - - i-75 



QE BARY-BAYA 



MERCHANTS' LINE 



St. John's River Steamers 

CARRYING U. S. MAIL 



ONE OF THE STEAMERS OF THIS LINE will leave Jacksonville daily, from wharf foot of 
Laura Street, at 3:20 p.m., and S., F. & W. Railway wharf at 3:40 p.m. for 

PA LA TKA, AS TOR, 

SAN FORD, ENTERPRISE, 

AND ALL INTERMEDIATE LANDINGS SOUTH OF PALATKA. 

Will make close connection with all rail lines for POINTS IN THE IN TERIOR, and with 
steamer at San ford for POINTS ON INDIAN RIVER. Returning, leave Enterprise at -:3o, and 
Sanford on arrival of train, arriving at Jacksonville EARLY NEXT MOKNING, making close 
connection with rail and steam lines for all points NORTH, EAST, AND WEST. For all points 
between Jacksonville and Palatka. take one of the steamers leaving daily, Sundays excepted at 10 
a.m. The through boats of this line run in connection with the Peoples Line, and all tickets and 
passes issued by that line will be honored on the through boats. 

W. B. WATSON, CHAS. B. FENWICK, 

General Manager. Gen. Freight and Pass. Agent. 



MALLORY 

Steamship Line 

THE ONLY LINE OF STEAMERS 

^RUNNING BETWEEN- 

NEW YORKand FLORIDA. 

Composed of the following fleet of Magnificent Iron Steamers : 

City of San Antonio, W YV^^^ State of Texas, 




Western Texas, \\m i _iJI^^P^ Carondelet. 

Sailing from New York, Pier 21, East River, 

Every Friday, - - 3 O'Clock P.M. 

Arriving at FERNANDINA, TUESDAY MORNING, where 
direct connection is made with the FERNANDINA AND JACK- 
SONVILLE SHORT LINE for JACKSONVILLE, and all points 
on the ST. JOHN'S, OCKLAWAHA, INDIAN, and HALIFAX 
RIVERS, and with FLORIDA TRANSIT AND PENINSULAR 
R.R., for ALL OTHER POINTS IN FLORIDA. 

Sailing from Fernandina, Fla., 

Every Thursday Evening, 

After arrival of Trains from JACKSONVILLE and CEDAR KEYS. 

PASSENGERS from points on ST. JOHN'S RIVER arrive in JACKSONVILLE 

on THURSDAY morning, and can take the MORNING ot AFTERNOON train 

for FERNANDINA. 
PASSENGERS landed on STEAMERS' WHARF, and step at once on board 

STEAMERS, where DINNER IS SERVED AT 6 P.M. 
BAGGAGE transferred FREE from Boat to Train, at Jacksonville, and checked 

through to New York. 

{^- THROUGH TICKETS, SINGLE or EXCURSION, on sale at all principal points 
in Florida, also points NORTH and EAST. 

STATE ROOMS secured in advance by all agents of connecting Lines. 
FREIGHT RATES as low as the lowest. Through Bills of Lading issued, 
ALL JUST CLAIMS PROMPTLY SETTLED. 



For Rates of Freight and Passage, Maps, Printed Matter, and general information, 

apply to 



C. H. MALLORY & CO., Gen'lAg'ts. 

Pier 20, East River, N. Y. 

SETH SPRAGUE, 

3 Old State House, Boston. 
H. McMURTRIE, Agent, 

a Chestnut street, Philadelphia, 



FORCE &> WA TERBUR Y, Ag'ls, 

2 Conimerce street, Baltimore. 
JOHN RICH General So. Pass Agent. 
Jacksonville, Fla. 
R. W. SOUTHWICK, Agent, 

Fernandina, Fla , 



i?< %, 



O 



4 -^ 






^ ^ 






'>, 









